Glass (2019)

Elevator Pitch: Elijah Price, known as Mr Glass a man with brittle bones and possibly with a supermind, David Dunn, a man who seems to be immune to almost all attempts to kill him, and who has become a vigilante  and Kevin Wendell Crumb a man with many personalities, one of which is “The Beast,” are captured and imprisoned in a psychiatric unit under the supervision of Dr Ellie Staple. Her task is to convince the three men that although they seem to be supermen in actual fact their beliefs are a delusion and that really they are ordinary men. But Mr Glass, who believes that comic books are actually a record about the existence of supermen, has his own agenda.

Content: No sex or nudity, although four young cheerleaders, in costume, chained up by Kevin, or one of his personalities, are rescued by David Dunn. Once Elijah, Kevin and David are captured they are restrained in various ways in the hospital, by using their weaknesses. There are interviews of the three by Dr Staple.  There are flashbacks, particularly to the train wreck caused by Elijah 19 years earlier, which David Dunn survives and in which Kevin’s father dies, ensuring continued abuse by his mother. The psychiatrist meets with other groups, but what are they up to?

A View: The critics did not like this outing much probably because in reality the whole premise on which the story is built, that Mt Glass believes that comic books are a sort of collective memory, proving the existence of superheroes, is very weak. However once more the numbers say it all. The estimated production cost was $20 million and the film returned twice that figure on its opening weekend. Also in my view both of the films from which this one is derived are better, and as for the director’s twist in the tail – well, I’ll go to the foot of our stairs! So maybe a watch for nothing, for superhero fans.

Additional info:  Bruce Willis was nominated for a Golden Raspberry “Worst Supporting Actor”, but I thought he did pretty well, seeming to happily accept his lesser role in this outing.