After nearly 20 years of waiting, the sequel to 2000’s cult hit “Unbreakable” is finally here. Director M. Night Shyamalan (“Split”) has been teasing this installment for years, but is “Glass” worth the wait or as brittle as Elijah Price’s bones?

To current movie-going audiences, Shyamalan is a name that will elicit more shudders than praise. At the dawn of his directing career, Shyamalan was the hottest filmmaker in Hollywood, receiving acclaim for his supernatural thriller, “The Sixth Sense.” Furthermore, preceding the release of his 2002 science fiction film, “Signs,” Newsweek lauded Shyamalan, even going so far as to call him “the next Spielberg.” It seemed like Shyamalan was going onto bigger and brighter things, a storyteller to rival the minds of George Lucas (“Star Wars”) and Stephen King (“Maximum Overdrive”). But as history reminds us, nothing lasts forever.

The latter half of the 2000s brought nothing but abysmal returns for the Indian filmmaker. Audiences and critics began to look past Shyamalan’s act and started classifying “the next Spielberg” as being nothing more than a one-trick pony. Considering the quality of his films at the time, the reception was duly earned. Films such as “Lady in the Water” and “The Happening” were panned for their pretentious presentation, awkward performances and nonsensical twists.

The beginning of the 2010s brought nothing but a bigger budget to Shyamalan’s myriad of cinematic excrement. “The Last Airbender” is perhaps the worst adaptation of a beloved cartoon series ever made, and 2013’s “After Earth” proves how nepotism in Hollywood is not always a good thing. Now comes “Glass,” a film that could go either way in terms of quality.

Three years after the end of “Split,” Bruce Willis (“Reprisal”) returns as David Dunn, the protagonist from “Unbreakable” with superhuman strength. In the time since, Dunn has started a security business with his son and partner Joseph (Spencer Treat Clark, “The Town That Dreaded Sundown”). However, at night, Dunn has his second life as a vigilante dubbed “the Overseer” while his son feeds him intel. Think of the relationship between Batman and Oracle from the “Batman: Arkham” games but on a more grounded scale.

Following a failed attempt at apprehending the deranged Kevin Wendell Crumb (James McAvoy, “Sherlock Gnomes”), Dunn finds himself locked away in a mental institution alongside Crumb and Elijah Price (Samuel L. Jackson, “Incredibles 2”). All three find themselves under the watchful eye of Dr. Ellie Staple (Sarah Paulson, “Bird Box”), a psychiatrist who tries to persuade the trio that they do not possess super powers.

Starting with the good, James McAvoy’s performance as the Horde is impeccable and proves why the Scottish actor is one of the best working today. The nature of Crumb’s dissociative identity disorder (DID) allows McAvoy to showcase his versatility by switching personalities spontaneously. Watching McAvoy go from a sweet, innocent teenage girl to an obnoxious and perverted man is nothing short of astonishing.

The film’s action set pieces are also a sight to behold. The opening and closing brawl between Dunn and the Horde are some of the film’s highlights. It feels simply amazing to watch Willis finally go toe to toe against somebody that might overpower him. For some, the second act of the film may feel tedious, as Willis and Jackson take a backseat in favor of the Horde, and audiences have been waiting to see these two characters for over 20 years. But the asylum portion of the feature acts like the simmering of a good stew. Sure, it takes a while, but it will most likely lead to a satisfying conclusion.

“Glass” suffers from many major issues. Anya Taylor-Joy (“Thoroughbreds”) returns from “Split,”  but her presence feels utterly pointless. The film also starts to fall apart in its final act. Not only does the expected twist come completely out of left field (even by Shyamalan’s standards), but the ending also leaves a lot to be desired. Superhero films have come a long way since the first “X-Men” movie in 2000, but the ending of “Glass” feels more like it belongs at the end of the NBC series “Heroes” rather than the end of a long-gestating film trilogy.

“Glass” can be an entertaining movie. The action is fine, and McAvoy’s performance is a sight to behold, but the buildup that Shyamalan pens falls apart at the end. “Glass” is better than a lot of Shyamalans previous offerings, but it will most definitely leave audiences “Split.”

Image from Universal Pictures via YouTube