A Big Bruce Willis Flop Is Finding A New Audience On Netflix 5 Years Later
One of Bruce Willis' biggest critical flops is finally finding the audience it deserves on Netflix. In 2019, the actor teamed up with director M. Night Shyamalan for "Glass," the long-awaited sequel to the duo's 2000 superhero flick "Unbreakable." Despite a nearly two-decade wait, audiences and critics didn't find "Glass" as compelling as its predecessor. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a 37% score from critics. Poor reviews don't seem to matter, however, as "Glass" is the third-most-watched film on Netflix USA, coming in behind "Happy Gilmore" and a huge Denzel Washington flop that's also getting a second life on the streaming platform.
The hype for "Glass" was through the roof. The film was set to function as a major event for Shyamalan and Willis, who had their fair share of misfires during the late 2000s and early 2010s. Unfortunately, critics and audiences weren't enthused about the superhero pic. "Glass" has a 2.9 average user rating on Letterboxd, the popular film social networking site. While some viewers find the picture bold, most are disappointed that "Glass" went in an uninspired direction. "This movie is borderline garbage and suffers from [poor] storytelling and writing," wrote user andy_sneer in a one-and-a-half-star review.
Despite the negative reception, it's unsurprising that "Glass" is blowing up the charts on Netflix. When the picture debuted, it became a box office juggernaut, grossing nearly $250 million on a budget of $20 million. Thanks to its A-list cast and intriguing premise, audiences should continue to seek out the superhero film.
What is Glass about?
Without diving deep into spoilers, "Glass" is a superhero "team-up" film that is a sequel to both M. Night Shyamalan's "Unbreakable" and "Split." When the latter was released in 2017, audiences were unaware that the James McAvoy horror pic was a stealth follow-up to "Unbreakable," which features Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson as dueling superpowered beings. "Glass" functions as the final installment in the director's Eastrail 177 trilogy and brings characters from the previous two films together.
"Unbreakable" was a major play for Shyamalan and Willis upon release, as it reunited the duo shortly after they made "The Sixth Sense." Both "Unbreakable" and "Glass" are two of Willis' most popular movies, and are must-watches for fans of the action maverick. Viewers shouldn't just dive right into "Glass," however. People should watch its two predecessors first to appreciate Willis' performance and Shyamalan's world-building fully. "Unbreakable" can be streamed on Max, while "Split" can be watched with a Netflix subscription.
While "Glass" is a critical flop, it's worth watching, as it's one of Willis' final major roles before he retired. Willis' health status and condition rapidly changed in 2022 when he was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia. "Glass" is one of the few mainstream theatrical films that the "Die Hard" star took on before he wrapped up his time as an actor.