Split's ending was one of the most surprising and effective sequel announcements in film history. The hype for Glass has been building since January 2017 - the idea of Bruce Willis' David Dunn attempting to take on James McAvoy's 24 different personalities was very exciting. I regret to report that Glass' hype-train quickly derails as the film unfolds. After a tediously long journey, Glass never arrives at the desired or promised destination. The chills of Split and the thrills of Unbreakable are replaced with a slow-paced and mystified character study as Shyamalan takes his characters in an albeit unexpected but cloudy direction. Shatter those expectations, Shyamalan fooled us all.

Shyamalan claims that he had the idea of an Unbreakable-universe since the first film's inception. Apparently, a film starring three superhumans would be too complex and ambitious. 19 years later and Shyamalan has released a film featuring a man with 24 personalities, a man with superstrength and telepathy and a man who- what actually is Mr Glass' superpower? One thinks that narcissistic Shyamalan forgot why this would be hard to pull off. Glass feels like an after-thought. David Dunn's cameo was tacked on to the end of Split and Shyamalan clearly struggled to tell a compelling and coherent story about these three characters. The opening replicates the entire story of Split in under 20 minutes: A group of teen girls who are being held hostage by Kevin escape. They are saved by Dunn's The Overseer (it would have been even more mindblowing if Dunn had saved Casey at the end of Split). After that, Glass spends most of its runtime inside a mental facility, working somewhat effectively as a character study but the slow pace fails to engage and hook the audience.

James McAvoy's Kevin Wendell Crumb continues to be Shyamalan's secret weapon. Not only does McAvoy deliver another impressive performance, but we also get to meet even more of Kevin's personalities. None of the new personalities are as distinct or as well-defined as the original eight; McAvoy essentially speaks in an additional ten accents. There are a few scenes where Kevin switches between multiple personalities in a desperate attempt to introduce as many as possible to the audience. Split was effective because it was grounded. Shyamalan selected the personalities that were going to add to the film's tone and narrative. This time around, Shyamalan transparently forces 21 of Kevin's personalities into the film regardless of whether they help the plot to progress. This is just one example of Split's success resurrecting Shyamalan's narcissism. 'Jade' was my favourite of the new personalities; McAvoy embodies a flirtatious diabetic victoriously. From the creepily likeable Hedwig to the chillingly stern Patricia, McAvoy's performance is a triumph (apart from the 'etcetera' gag which aged like milk).

Glass offers Kevin's backstory, revealing details about his abusive mother and his father's tragic death. Kevin's father died in the same accident that David Dunn (Bruce Willis) survived. Elijah (Jackson) takes ownership of the creation of both The Beast and The Overseer as he orchestrated the crash. While this tightens Kevin's connection to the Unbreakable universe, this development felt unnecessary and ultimately added nothing to the film. Kevin briefly turns against Elijah/Mr Glass but quickly returns to fighting Dunn. Another pointless addition was the return of Anya Taylor Joy's Casey Cooke. Joy still shines despite limited opportunities, but Casey was no more than a pawn for character development. The unlikely chemistry between Joy and McAvoy is weirdly endearing though.

Aside from his silly raincoat, Bruce Willis' David Dunn is a worthy opponent for The Horde. Dunn's super-strength and telepathic abilities are cool. Willis' performance is good. Dunn and his son Joseph (Spencer Treat Clark returns) have developed a nice relationship. Dr Staple's (Paulson) suggestion that Joseph only believes that his father is a superhero because of the sudden death of his mother is both moving and heart-breaking. Glass is a realistic take on the superhero genre and, while this occasionally leads to smart commentary, it results in a very cheap looking 'blockbuster'. Dunn's superpowers pose the prime opportunity for big action set pieces but Shyamalan refuses to leave the mental facility or increase the stakes (or spend any money).

To Shyamalan's credit, there are some genuinely smart twists within Glass (there are also some equally dumb ones). Samuel L. Jackson's Elijah Price/Mr Glass is already in the mental facility when the film begins. The doctors have been sedating him to weaken his powers. This means that Jackson is only required to twitch his eye and wobble his lips for the first two acts. A twist reveals that Elijah has been swapping out the sedatives for weaker antibiotics and has been waiting for his moment to pounce. While complex, Mr Glass' masterplans are always well thought out - he was aware that Dr Staple would catch him escaping his cell so comes up with a cover-up; he was prepared when Dr Staple attempts to carry out surgery on his brain; he knew that Kevin and The Overseer's showdown would lead to all of their deaths so utilises the CCTV cameras. Elijah is always one step ahead. However, his ultimate masterplan was slightly generic and underwhelming (Jurassic World 2 essentially had the same ending).

Shyamalan wouldn't be Shyamalan if he wasn't trying to bite off more than he can chew. It was obvious that there was going to be a twist involving Sarah Paulson's Dr Ellie Staple. There's no way Shyamalan would write in a psychiatric doctor and not try to make her a little crazy. The film's final few minutes reveal that Dr Staple is a member of a secret society whose aim is to hide superhumans from the public by convincing them that their powers are nonexistent. Upon a second viewing, the wrist tattoo that unveils Dr Staple's membership is not visible until Shyamalan decides that the secret society exists. Earlier scenes where Shyamalan uses wide shots could have artfully revealed Dr Staple's tattoo without the audience even noticing. A well-written twist should be subtly hinted at throughout the film so that the pieces can be put together retrospectively. In contrast, Shyamalan's twist is revealed without any explanation or logic. This was the moment where Glass cracked. Paulson does deliver a solid performance; I especially enjoyed the scene where she debunks each of the patients' superpower. Her explanations were convincing. A better twist might have been that Kevin, David and Elijah were just crazy after all?

Split worked because it was a focused and contained thriller. Glass often stalls because Shyamalan doesn't know what to do with his characters. Kevin Wendell Crumb, David Dunn and Elijah Price are three complex, defined and intriguing characters who spend the majority of Glass searching for a plot. Shyamalan is usually the master of the slow-burn, but Glass' pace is so slow that the narrative comes to a standstill. Each third-act twist chips away at Glass until the poorly-explained 'secret society' reveal shatters the film completely. James McAvoy's charisma and range outshine Willis, Jackson and Paulson's serviceable performances. Glass is a disappointing finale to one of modern cinema's most experimental and unexpected trilogies.