Glass (UHD Blu-ray) review

[David Vaughn]

Studio: Universal
Release Date: April 9, 2019
Rating: R
Film: 2.5/5

Plot
M. Night Shyamalan brings together two of his standout original films---Unbreakable and Split—in this explosive, all-new comic book thriller. Elijah Price, also known as Mr. Glass, finds David Dunn pursuing Kevin Wendell Crumb’s superhuman figure, the Beast, in a series of escalating encounters, Price, armed with secrets critical to both men, emerges as a shadowy orchestrator.

My Thoughts
M. Night Shyamalan burst on the scene with the brilliant film, The Sixth Sense, which surprise ending left audiences in awe and he’s been trying to reach that pinnacle ever sense—and failing miserably. His second tier of films included Unbreakable and its eventual sequel, Split. Finishing out the trilogy shows ambition on his part, but his execution is severely flawed.

Glass starts out quite well and had me thinking that it could possibly end up being the best of the trilogy, but like its predecessor, it falls apart in the third act and shatters whatever good will he built up during the first two acts. In fact, when it ends you’re left with the feeling of “Are you kidding me? This can’t end like this?”, because ultimately, there’s no grand finale. Furthermore, the pacing is much too slow—much like Unbreakable—and ultimately is a disappointment.

Sure, the film isn’t the greatest, but the presentation is outstanding. The UHD was filmed at 3.4k and comes from a 4K master, so detail is never an issue. Color saturation is intentionally muted and the black levels are very good. The Atmos track makes good use of the overhead speakers with plenty of discrete effects, especially when Dunn and The Beast have their run ins.

Video 9.5/10

Audio 9.5/10 (Dolby Atmos)

Special Features:

• The Collection of Main Characters - A look at all the main players and how they fit in the universe created by filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan.
  
  • David Dunn
  • Elijah Price
  • Kevin Wendell Crumb
• The Rest of the Family
• Bringing the Team Back Together
• David Dunn vs. The Beast
• Glass Decoded
• Breaking Glass: The Stunts
• Connecting the Glass Universe
• M. Night Shyamalan: Behind the Lens
• The Sound of Glass
• Enhancing the Spectacle
• Raven Hill Memorial
• Night Vision
• Blu-ray + Digital Copy

Conclusion
The presentation is excellent, but overall this is another miss from M. Night Shyamalan. It only cost about $20 million to make and its worldwide box office take neared $250 million, so the studio made a good profit on the production. This may explain why Shyamalan keeps getting signed for more projects—he makes money for the studio.

[AVSCraig]

I liked Unbreakable and Split. In fact, a few people have said watch all 3 of these in succession. 

[David Vaughn]

I liked Unbreakable and Split. In fact, a few people have said watch all 3 of these in succession.

I didn't hate them, but I think they get progressively worse. 3.5 stars, 3 stars, 2.5 stars. If you liked the first two, you'll probably like this one as well. 

[TRainH2O]

I liked Unbreakable but haven't watched Split. I will give this one a rent just to see if it has a tiny bit of the magic that I liked about Unbreakable.

Thanks, David. 

[AVSCraig]

I liked Unbreakable but haven't watched Split. I will give this one a rent just to see if it has a tiny bit of the magic that I liked about Unbreakable.

Thanks, David.

You should probably watch Split first. Maybe even watch Unbreakable again first before Split.  

[David Vaughn]

You should probably watch Split first. Maybe even watch Unbreakable again first before Split. 

I agree. 

[tripplej]

Thanks for the review. I agree, his best movie was 6th sense. Rest, I saw but they were just ok. Nothing to repeat see. Will check this out once available on amazon prime/netflix.

[TRainH2O]

I agree, The Sixth Sense was the best of his films but I really enjoyed Unbreakable too.

I will have to look for Split.