Is crash survivor David Dunn really a superhero?

Rating: 9/10 (13 May 2019)

When a train travelling between New York and Philadelphia crashes there is only one survivor; David Dunn... and he isn't even scratched. Shortly afterwards he is contacted by Elijah Price; a man who suffers from a condition that means the slightest accident causes his bones to break... leaking to him being nicknamed 'Mr Glass' as a child. Elijah grew up reading comics and now believes that David survived because he has superhero like powers. David is understandable sceptical but when he thinks back he can only recall one time he got injured. Does he really have superpowers or is he just very lucky?
This is an enjoyable film that almost defies genre. As it starts it looks as though it is going to be a disaster movie but we see nothing of the train crash or its aftermath; just our protagonist talking on the train then waking up in hospital. Then when he survives and is approached by Elijah the viewer is encouraged to wonder whether Dunn really has powers; something he denies while his young son is keen to believe in. The story plays out like a superhero origins story where we don't know whether the protagonist has powers until it is almost over. Since this was written and directed by M Night Shyamalan a big twist is inevitable and while key aspects weren't a total surprise many key details were. Bruce Willis and Samuel L Jackson are on great form as Dunn and Price respectively. Similarly Shyamalan does a fine job bringing his story to the screen; eschewing the look of a typical superhero film for a deliberately drab look. The story provides plenty of tense moments; the best being when Dunn's son tries to prove his father has superpowers in just about the most dangerous way possible. Overall I'd definitely recommend this to fans of Shyamalan's other films, fans of Willis and Jackson as well as people who enjoy superhero origins stories.