The Broken Are the More Evolved

Rating: 6/10 (27 January 2017)

It's fitting that a film released by one of the most divisive directors of all time is titled Split, seemingly welcoming 'split' opinions from audiences. And yes, I will consider myself one of those audience members who is 'split' on his views.
I've never went out of my way to see any of M. Night Shyamalan's films. There's something off-putting about knowing there's a twist coming rather than letting happen naturally in a film's plot. And with Shyamalan, you know there's a twist coming. It's virtually impossible to talk about this film without spoiling anything so here's your final chance to stop reading before this review goes off the rails.
So I guess this film is related to Unbreakable, one of Shyamalan's films I have yet to see. Or rather, can be considered an indirect sequel to the beloved 2000 superhero thriller. The uniquely disturbing lead character(s) from Split, played by James McAvoy appears to be yet another enhanced human in the Unbreakable universe. Having not seen that film yet, it was hard for me to get excited about this relation at first, especially if this was the "twist" everyone was freaking out about. With that said, the fact that Shyamalan was able to hide this from the general public up until the film's premiere, is impressive and unprecedented.
So aside from the divisive ending, I found the entire film to be just alright. McAvoy was always magnetic, even as the terrifying beast or the irritating Hedwig. The Visit was a nice return to form for Shyamalan and Split definitely proves he is capable of making of cohesive thriller once again. The one problem I've always had with his films is that they seem to depend too heavily on the big twists instead of making a film stand on its own. For something who hasn't seen Unbreakable, I'm not sure it does stand well on its own. I think I'll be able to have a better appreciation for Split once I see Unbreakable, but a film shouldn't be dependent on another to succeed. Even the best Marvel Universe films, which spans nearly a decade of world building, can stand on their own.
If I'm grading the film based on the powerhouse that is McAvoy, then I can give it my stamp of approval. But everything outside of his performance, is just average. I realize not having an actual opinion is unproductive in terms of a review, but I'm not going to pretend that I really enjoyed or really disliked the movie. So for now, the jury is still out on Split.
+McAvoy
+Shyamalan improves on thrills
-Twists & turns didn't have the biggest payoffs, for me
-Nothing too special
6.1/10