Glass (2019) * *

Directed by:  M. Night Shyamalan

Starring:  James McAvoy, Samuel L. Jackson, Bruce Willis, Sarah Paulson, Spencer Treat Clark, Anya Taylor-Joy

I was not a fan of Split (2017), but begrudgingly admitted it was M. Night Shyamalan's best work since Unbreakable (2000).   This isn't high praise, but maybe with Glass, a one-stop shop sequel to both Unbreakable and Split, I was curious to see if Shyamalan had found his footing again at long last.    My curiosity was rewarded with a schlocky, scaled down, wannabe superhero movie which feels like a Tony Robbins seminar urging people to tap into their limitless potential

When we left Split, Kevin (McAvoy), the man with 24 different, distinct personalities had morphed into The Beast, the deadliest of all of the personalities.  McAvoy hulks up and thrashes people.    David Dunn (Willis), aka The Overseer, who dons his hoodie raincoat and conducts vigilantism around Philadelphia, is tracking him with help from his grown son Joe (Clark).    Just as The Overseer locates Kevin and the two begin brawling, they are captured by psychiatrist Dr. Ellie Staple (Paulson) and taken to a mental institution.    Shyamalan must've wanted to scale back on extras, but this place seems to have only Kevin, David, and of course Elijah (from Unbreakable) as patients, plus one or two staff members to look after them.   Imagine the cost of property taxes and upkeep on such a large place used just to hold three people. 

Kevin is kept from turning into The Beast with aid of a strobe light which flashes when he is about to change into another personality, and David is kept at bay with about an elaborate shower system which drenches him if he tries to escape.   (David's weakness is water, which led me to wonder if he takes the night off when it rains).    Elijah is seemingly catatonic from medication, but we all know better.   You would think Dr. Staple would know better also.   We see a McAvoy performance, which like in Split, he shows off various accents which he obviously has mastered.    Jackson spends a good portion of the movie in catatonia, but then he babbles on about being a mastermind who can unleash the supposedly terrifying potential in David and Kevin.   Willis, however, remains mysteriously in the background when he should be in the foreground. 

You would not be far off if you suspect what will happen next:   Mr. Glass will form an alliance with Kevin, although it's The Beast in which Mr. Glass is most interested, and David will try to stop it as Dr. Staple tries to convince each of them that they are insane or at least have frontal lobe brain damage.    This leads to a climax which serves as an underwhelming payoff to all that has gone before it.   Because this is M. Night Shyamalan, we know there will be a Big Reveal or two before the final credits, but in Glass I may be low by one.   And the Big Reveals don't much matter anyway, because they don't make the finale any more thrilling or satisfying.    But just when you think Glass is over, it continues on.   We don't know if it is ever going to end, but end it does, with a thud.