Movie fans around the world are waiting for the "return of the king" of "Avengers 4". It is reported that North American film fans in order to pre-purchase a movie ticket, as well as the service area to squeeze out, showing the great charm of superheroes. Avengers 4 is definitely the golden age of superhero movies. But decline always happens quietly at its peak. After Avengers 4, Marvel and other superhero blockbusters had to consider the evolution and innovation of the genre.
Repeated "reboots", replacing actors, or pulling a few new villains, these old tricks will become more and more difficult to impress the hearts of fans. Where do superhero genre films go from here? Perhaps M. Knight Shyamalan's new film, "Glass," offers some answers.
"Mr. Glass", also known as "Split 2" or "Undead 2", shows that this new film has an indelible relationship with M. Knight Shyamalan's two predecessors. In 2016, "One Beauty" starring James McAvoy starred in "Split", which made fans fanatical. He single-handedly plays a demon controlled by 24 personalities, with randomly switching facial expressions, behavior, gender differences, and even accent habits that make people marvel at James McAvoy's acting skills.
The film takes the suspense and thriller route, and the little girl Who shines in the new wave horror film "The Witch" and "Yimei" play, which is even more sparkling.
The large-scale reversal at the end directly "drowned" the audience, and everyone looked forward to the follow-up after watching it. The Easter egg at the end of the film appears in the figure of Bruce Willis, indicating that the pattern and volume of the new film will rise sharply. Sure enough, "Mr. Glass" is also deeply related to M. Knight Shyamalan's suspense film "Unbreakable" in 2000.
In "Undead Robbery", David Doon, played by Lao Bu, survives a train accident and is unscathed. Ilya (Samuel L. Jackson), a black man who loves comics, tells him that he is actually a superhero with an "immortal body".
The film is also like M. Knight Shyamalan's classic "The Sixth Sense of The Spirit", which is wrapped in layers of thick suspense, but finally ends with a very soft family affection, ending in a tragic way, which makes people break and break their intestines. This time, "Mr. Glass", hitched a ride on "Undead" and "Split", let glass oscillate between unbreakable and split.
The three films with the same genre elements can actually be seen as director M. Knight Shyamalan's "Super British" trilogy. His heroic values are very different from Marvel's, and they are somewhat "similar" to the previous DC. He likes tragic heroes, and in his eyes, these people have no light, all people admire, some just dare not see the light, some are just ugly and cowardly under the shadows.
"Mr. Glass" is definitely a whole new direction that "Super British" genre films can try after "Avengers 4". The biggest charm of the hero lies in the "star aura", and under the aura, it is necessary to amplify the charm, but also to retain privacy, let people know some, while using some secrets to create a sense of mystery, maintaining a distance of "can see but can not touch", is the best relationship mode between the public and the hero.
Balance is the key to that. And "Mr. Glass" is discussing how to maintain the balance between the hero and the public, a safe distance, which can be said to be neither fanatical in faith. The hero, in fact, is the self-projection of mass desire, a mirror-like self-reflection, like glass, we see the "hope" self on the glass, a self-selves and superego desires coincide.
If he were unbreakable, we would be headed for David's tragedy; if he were split, I would have fallen into Kevin's abyss; the best way for the individual and social group is to keep the glass "broken" look. We worship heroes and have the courage to act on them; but at the same time we understand that there are no so-called "superheroes", that we are still mortals ourselves, with insurmountable limitations, without expansion and arrogance. This is actually the key theme of "Mr. Glass".
This hidden danger is expressed at the beginning of the film. Two young men, who beat others (ethnic minorities) in a raid on the street, used the "Fist of Superman" and uploaded videos online to promote their "heroism." This fascination and cognitive distortion of "superhero" is an experience of the confusion of heroic values. They were then punished by David. On the other hand, Kevin, who is divided and the beast personality is stimulated, is torturing the girl again, trying to continuously stimulate the beast ability and stimulate the superhuman ability.
On one side is David, the embodiment of justice in aging, on the other hand, there are dark demons that are rising, and the values of young people in society are confused, and this society gradually slides into the brink of danger. The conflict between David and Kevin inevitably erupted. The plot ushers in a motivating event, the mysterious dr. Ellie Staple (Sarah Paulsen) suddenly appears, and he convinces and subdues the two sides who are fighting.
Kevin's personality mutations are controlled by flash devices; David's superpowers are suppressed by a high-pressure water wall; and Hel. Ellie Staple was in a psychotropic drug-controlled glass Mr. Elijah sitting in a wheelchair delirious, like brain death.
Dr. Ellie Staple brought the three together to convince them that they did not have what they thought superhero abilities were, that they were all psychopaths who had caused various hypocrisies due to tragic childhoods and middle age.
They are not heroes, but ordinary people, patients. The film layout clearly plans out 5 perspectives. David, the righteous hero of aging;
His opponent, the evil symbol Kevin;
There is also the comic book fan Mr. Glass Ilya who wants to prove the existence of "superheroes";
Hope to persuade the crowd to give treatment to the dr. ellie staple；
There are also bystanders as an important link, relatives and friends of the three protagonists in the film, and audiences as mass consciousness. The film is constantly falsifying "whether superheroes exist or not". Dr. Ellie Staple and Mr. Glass Ilya are the key to balance, controlling on the one hand and exciting on the other. David and Kevin are just pawns for them, and the collision of good and evil is an immortal conflicting element of all heroic themes or blockbuster comics.
The audience will also become ambiguous in the interpretation and behavior of both sides, whether they are crazy or super-powered.
At the end of the film, M. Knight Shyamalan once again offers his mastery of emotional manipulation "routine". The continuous reversal and reversal push the plot to the climax, and the biggest reversal is still left in the last few minutes of the film, the continuation after the curtain, the truth and reversal at the last second, coupled with the emotional rendering of family and friendship, pushing the plot to the real boiling point.
The translation of "Glass" as "Mr. Glass" undoubtedly has a certain degree of confusion, in fact, the theme of the film is not in the characters, but in a state. Get rid of the polishing and prominence of the "superhero" persona, withdraw from it, and start from a grander social perspective to discuss the value of the existence of "superheroes" and the impact on public consciousness.
This is a new development path provided by "Glass" for the "super British" genre film.