Mini-Review: Split (2017)

I'm hoping to get more reviews out by doing this mini-review format. If I want to go into actual depth on this movie I'll do so via multi-vlog reviews or other posts.

In this review of Split there will be spoilers. So if you haven't seen the movie stop reading now and go see it before continuing.

Connection to Unbreakable

Split has a mid-credit scene which will leave some people wondering why others are cheering. For those who haven't yet seen Unbreakable don't read any further as I'll be talking about spoilers for that film. The one non-spoiler thing I can say about that film is that it's one of Shyamalan's more respected films and one that fans would love to see a sequel to. Samuel L. Jackson is more than ready to return to his role from that film.

Now onto spoilers for Unbreakable:

During the course of Unbreakable, David Dunn (played by Bruce Willis) never truly believed in what Mr. Glass was saying. At the end of that film David seeing the horrible things Mr. Glass had done might have been likely to ignore the man's teachings.

But now David is presented with proof, via the Horde, that super heroes and villains actually exist. It is possible that he is a super hero and it is his duty to stop the Horde.

It might seem as though Split being a sequel to Unbreakable must have been decided during the early planning stages of the recent movie. However, Kevin was going to be a part of Unbreakable but ultimately ended being dropped from that film.

So Kevin's connection to the Unbreakable series goes back a long ways.

James McAvoy is a Talented Actor

One of the reasons I was interested in Split was that I wanted to see what James McAvoy would do with the role. Over the movies I've seen him in he had earned my respect. A role that requires an actor to play multiple characters is the ultimate test of acting talent.
I am glad to say that McAvoy managed to pull this feat off. He gives each personality its own character.

For example: Hedwig has a very childish and naive personality. While he is the reason the Horde was able to be formed, he is far from an evil minded character.

Compare that to the Beast who is evil incarnate. There is nothing pure about that personality. I mean...what he ends up doing to two of the girls...yeah...

I can't wait to see what happens in the sequel to his character. For one we haven't had a proper introduction to all of Kevin's personalities. Some of them have minor screen time but we don't know them as well as say Hedwig.

So here's hoping that we get to see even more of his personalities next time. Maybe some personalities will even rebel against the Horde!

The Impure

At the beginning of the movie Dennis captures three girls: Casey, Claire, and Marcia.

Casey is abducted due to her being in the wrong place at the wrong time. I feel it's safe to assume that Claire and Marcia were the two girls in an incident mentioned throughout the movie. Two girls forced Kevin to touch their chests and then ran away laughing. The Horde mentions that they had been keeping an eye on the pair for awhile before kidnapping them.

Casey, the outcast, remarks on the fact that both Claire and Marcia have never felt true fear before. That they have both lived such perfect lives that they have never had to consider the true horrors of the world. This was said after the two girls made remarks saying Casey wasn't being part of the team. At least that was the general gist.

The Beast puts people of the world into two categories: pure and impure.

Those like Claire and Marcia are impure while Casey is spared because she is pure. The Beast sees people that have not gone through trauma as impure while those who have are pure. This might possibly be Kevin's way of coping with his past. He is putting his resentment into other personalities so that they can do what he can't.

Rating: 3.5/5

Additional Notes:
*You don't need to see Unbreakable to understand this movie
*Even though you don't need to see Unbreakable, it is still a good film to watch
*Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) is treated respectfully
*Rape is implied but not shown