Unbreakable was a weird little movie, but it had the sort of classical character arcs that people are used to: a hero who changes because of extraordinary circumstances. Split kind of breaks this pattern because the leads are not the kidnapped girls, but James McAvoy's character. Through the eyes of victims we see who the villain is and what he becomes, but they don't grow in any meaningful fashion. Hell, the two girls kidnapped with Anya Taylor-Joy's character are basically extras.
Yes, both films are, in fact, focusing on the villains, yet Split offers nothing revelatory in its last act. The film starts with girls kidnapped for unclear reasons, then you get an explanation somewhere in the middle, with the idea of what is going to happen. Then it happens. No "I didn't see THAT coming!" here. And the ending is really unsatisfactory, with no resolution in any direction, just a scene to let us know that it's connected with Unbreakable, which otherwise you would have never known. Imagine how ridiculous it would have been if the third movie would not have been made.
That being said, the film is very carefully made. McAvoy is his usual brilliant actor, Anya is weird as usual, but all of the other (few) cast members did a good job, the tension is always there, the sets are good, the sound is good, and so on. This is a good movie, but with an unclear story.
I watched Unbreakable in 2000. I kind of liked it. Then, *16 years later* there comes a pair of sequels. It took me 8 years to even convince myself to watch Split and I guess i will watch Glass now, but if people felt like me, no wondered this trilogy ended up as an obscure reference MNS fans like to obsess about.
Yes, both films are, in fact, focusing on the villains, yet Split offers nothing revelatory in its last act. The film starts with girls kidnapped for unclear reasons, then you get an explanation somewhere in the middle, with the idea of what is going to happen. Then it happens. No "I didn't see THAT coming!" here. And the ending is really unsatisfactory, with no resolution in any direction, just a scene to let us know that it's connected with Unbreakable, which otherwise you would have never known. Imagine how ridiculous it would have been if the third movie would not have been made.
That being said, the film is very carefully made. McAvoy is his usual brilliant actor, Anya is weird as usual, but all of the other (few) cast members did a good job, the tension is always there, the sets are good, the sound is good, and so on. This is a good movie, but with an unclear story.
I watched Unbreakable in 2000. I kind of liked it. Then, *16 years later* there comes a pair of sequels. It took me 8 years to even convince myself to watch Split and I guess i will watch Glass now, but if people felt like me, no wondered this trilogy ended up as an obscure reference MNS fans like to obsess about.