Split B-

Rating: 6/10 (23 January 2017)

Split is the most recent movie made by M. Night Shymalan, and fans of him (especially me) were very excited to see it because of the supposed "comeback" Shymalan is making after going on a rampage of bad films. Split is much better than a lot of the bad Shymalan projects like The Last Airbender, The Happening, and After Earth. However, it doesn't come close to the great ones like The Sixth Sense, Signs, and Unbreakable. The movie has a lot going for it, such as spectacular acting performances from James McAvoy and Anna Taylor-Joy. I also really enjoyed the realism of the film, but it gets completely thrown out the window when "the beast" shows up. The pacing also really brings the movie down. There are points where you just want to see one of McAvoy's weird personalities but instead we are learning about side characters that nobody would care about. The worst thing about the movie in my opinion, is the twist ending. M. Night Shymalan is known for being the master of the twist ending, but this one felt extremely out of place. SPOILER: It sets up a sequel for Unbreakable, which makes Split feel like a set piece in Shymalan's plan to make money. (Split was a origin story for a villain in the Unbreakable universe.) In the long run, I like Split and LOVE Unbreakable on its own, but I don't think they would mesh well together in the same universe.