The VHS fest rolls on. About all I have to say is I don't know how the idea behind the plot could have been executed any better, or how such a thin idea for a movie could have made it onto the screen had the director not been rolling along on reputation alone at the time. Not a movie I enjoyed.
I liked this movie. Its a super hero origin tale before superhero moves became the juggernaut that they would become.
it's best watched as the prequel to SPLIT and GLASS. They stitch the narrative together nicely.
My fav M. Night film. Destructioning comics/superheroes before it became boring and old hack.
Honestly, I thought it was insanely boring. I liked the concept but the film moves at a glacial pace. Especially that dreadful weightlifting scene with the kid, ugh. I loved SPLIT though, haven't watched GLASS.
Funny, I really liked it. To me, there's a strong theme of learning and accepting one's talents and potential purpose.
This is an odd film that perhaps forecasted MNS' inconsistent filmography since. I think the first 30 minutes (slow as they are) contain Tarkovski-caliber directorial control and cinematography. Beautiful filmmaking, among the best in MNS' career. At the point where Glass enters the plot, however, the viewer expects the pace to increase significantly, which it doesn't. It's a very languorous superhero film, ennit? The climax is decent, though not a sufficient payoff after the laborious set-up. And then there's that weird final freeze-frame, like out of the original NAKED GUN sitcom. That one shot knocks at least a solid half-star off of it for me.
Shyalaman... what's your bag, dude? Great ideas... terrible ideas... he says Yes to 'em all and they all end up in the final cut. So perennially confounding.......
The movie has a wonderful idea, great cast, and is beautifully shot, but there's just something missing from it. It feels like it needs more of a payoff at the end than it gets.