As inconsistent and uneven as the main character

Rating: 6/10 (18 January 2017)

The best thing by far about Split is the performance by McAvoy. He has great fun switching personas, and the fun is infectious. Because of this, its best seen as a black comedy because you'll be smirking and giggling quite a bit at the little nuances.
But without that performance, the film is pretty lame. The subplot of the girl captives trying to escape is nothing new, especially in an era of 10 Cloverfield Lane, Room, Green Room, Saw films etc. The therapy sections are extremely clichéd and dull, the old woman therapist badly underwritten. These scenes could have been so much more interesting.
By the end, Shyamalan's immaturity as a filmmaker once again rears its ugly head, both trying to shoe-horn in some heavy themes (sexual abuse, self-harming) without any sensitivity or real emotional awareness, and also swerving the film firmly into absurd comic book territory. By this point its clear he didn't have a firm idea of the story he wanted to tell or why, just another gimmick that made itself up as it went, meandering all over the place.
Basically, don't expect anything "great". Set your sights for a 2- star Netflix kinda film, then be pleasantly surprised by how fun and watchable it is (in a forgettable way).