There has been much discussion about whether or not it is socially acceptable to watch Split. I'm gonna skip right over all of that and talk purely about the movie itself.
Anya Taylor-Joy is good, but McAvoy is what makes Split worthwhile. The heavily touted twist/reveal was all but a non-event, even to a M. Night alum like myself. Though it is certainly (in my opinion) the best work The Shamhammer has brought out since at least Signs, it's hard to say that its successes rest on his shoulders. Again, it is for McAvoy that we really owe praise, who, with the exception of his role as the lead in Filth, gives his career best performance.
Final rating:★★★ - I personally recommend you give it a go.
Split was a movie that I was a bit weary to see, I had been bitten by M. Knight before and I wasn't sure if this movie would be worth while. But the trailers looked great and I had always thought James McAvoy was a seriously underrated actor.
Split surprised me. I loved this movie. Ann Taylor-Joy was decent in the film and the Dr was great, but McAvoy knocked it out of the park. Being able to portray all these different personalities with no props such as wigs or makeup shows his talent. It was amazing how one personality made you feel uneasy and perplexed and the next had you smiling and feeling like you were really staring at a strange child. Bravo McAvoy.
The twist at the end made me love this movie even more. Though I'm not sure if you can really cal it a twist. A "reveal" might be the better word for what the audience learns. Whatever you want to cal it, the reveal at the end made me excited to see what's next!
The only thing I didn't like about this film was the unresolved conflict between Ann Taylor-Joy's character at the end of the film.
Besides that, I loved it. Definitely worth watching.
**Didnt see the review section at first so,I posted on the forums**
Not a fan of The director since Unbreakable. It was slightly above average but no whee near the quality of The Sixth Sence. I don't know why I keep watching his movies, probably hoping one will be the same extraordinary quality. With all the pre-release buzz I thought this was finally that movie.
I was so disappointed. I rated it slightly lower than Unbreakable. I don't know exactly where it where it went off the rails, but it never held my attention (and I'm not ADHD- I sit though theee hours of a good bio pic.
A good part of this was the girls trying asinine ways to escape; at other time we see McAvoy play several personalities half heartily. After all the award talk I expected a much better and diverse McAvoy. Sadly, just like the majority of Night's films he has his actors perform methodically. It actually felt McAlvoy was pushing his talents against the brick wall of what the director wanted.
He wasn't the only actor who underplayed the role. So did the doctor and the three teenage girls. First, after all these late night calls for extra appointment why didn't she get upset earlier or pull a personality up (which she has stated she can do) to discover the emergency instead of A casual bye--you-leave when another dominant personality shows up to the appointment.
I rate this in the same category of Nights's films except the quality Sisth Sense and Devil, which he did not direct and only wrote the original story,
As for,the ending, I felt it was a cheap shot. If the point was they are in the same time, the message came across far too,strong. If it is a hitnt to an Unbreakable 2 I'll pass and see another big screen feature.
I read some reviews and gave this movie a shot. I was very disappointed.
M. Night Shyamalan's last good movie, in my opinion of course, was The Village, where he had control over his style.
In Split he tries to use the same formula, but it doesn't work. There was no build up in reveling the plot, and then when we get to the end the feeling I got was : "Is that it ?".
Sure all the actors were good, but that didn't make the experience for me any better.
