Split movie review

Movie reviewer's note: I am reviewing this movie on my own accord. There was no screening invite. This review is unsolicited and not biased.

After many movies, M.Night Shyamalan is back in doing suspense movies starting with Split. It’s a story about a man with 23 split personalities and the 24^th one is about to manifest. But what if one of the personalities has a tendency to be violent.

Photo credit: UIP/Columbia Pictures

Kevin is played by James McAvoy, better known for his role as the younger Professor X in X-Men movies. Split is not really a great story but this is a lot better than Shyamalan’s previous work, The Last Airbender, which flopped really badly in cinemas.

The only thing that made this movie worthwhile watching is McAvoy’s performance. He was able to shift personalities in an instant and you can also see another angle of the movie as if you are looking at the perspective in the eyes of Kevin or his other personalities.

Although critics said that Split put Shyamalan back to fine form but he does not deserve all the credit but to McAvoy. When McAvoy was asked to be part of this movie, he asks; what role he will play. The director answered,” Read the script. It is hard to say.” He immediately accepted and asks the director to challenge him more. Now, that is an actor.

Thanks to James McAvoy, I ranked this movie four split personalities out of five. For more critical movie reviews, follow this blog and like L.E.N.S. blogs on Facebook.

“SPLIT” BRINGS SHYAMALAN BACK TO FINE FORM-ACCORDING TO SOME CRITICS

PRESS RELEASE

With a 78 percent Fresh rating at reviews-aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes, Universal Pictures' new suspense thriller Split (see my review here) starring James McAvoy has undeniably marked the official comeback story of filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan.

As critic John DeFore writes in The Hollywood Reporter, “genre fans should embrace what is arguably the director's most satisfying picture since The Sixth Sense. In some quarters, it will generate talk of a comeback for a filmmaker who has suffered both critical drubbing and box-office humiliation over the past decade.”

Peter Debruge agrees in his review in Variety. He shares, Spit is “A welcome return to form from Shyamalan whose unhinged new mind-bender is a worthy extension of his early work.

“Rest assured, there are plenty of proper twists to follow, none more unexpected than the fact that Shyamalan himself has managed to get his groove back after a slew of increasingly atrocious misfires,” Debruge continues. “To be fair, it’s hard to imagine any writer/director sustaining a career based almost entirely on surprising audiences. And though he lost us for a while there, by trading on ingenuity rather than big-budget special effects, Shyamalan has created a tense, frequently outrageous companion piece to one of his earliest and best movies.

“Ultimately, Split belongs to McAvoy, who has ample scenery to chew, but doesn’t stop there — he practically swallows the camera with his tiger-like teeth. With his head shaved, the actor conveys his transformations through body language, facial expression, and accent...While Shyamalan is basically making up rules for dissociative identity disorder as he goes along, the condition has afforded McAvoy the role of his career.”

Film reviewer Jordan Hoffman of The Guardian, assures, “It’s important to say that Split doesn’t hinge on a twist ending. It is a full and satisfying film that, if you stopped watching 18 seconds before the conclusion, would still suit as a juicy bit of smart horror.”

Finally, Haley Foutch of Collider, declares, “Ladies and gentlemen, M. Night Shyamalan has officially caught his second wind. Last year’s The Visit surprised audiences with a delightfully twisted spin and with Split, Shyamalan has reaffirmed his status as B-Movie extraordinaire.”

In Spit, though Kevin (James McAvoy) has evidenced 23 personalities to his trusted psychiatrist, Dr. Fletcher (Betty Buckley), there remains one still submerged who is set to materialize and dominate all the others. Compelled to abduct three teenage girls led by the willful, observant Casey (Anya Taylor-Joy), Kevin reaches a war for survival among all of those contained within him—as well as everyone around him—as the walls between his compartments shatter apart.

Split reunites Shyamalan with producer Jason Blum, who produced the filmmaker’s latest commercial and critical success, The Visit.

“SPLIT” -- HAILED AS SHYAMALAN'S MOST TERRIFYING FILM

Press release

Writer/director/producer M. Night Shyamalan returns to the captivating grip of The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable and Signs with Universal Pictures' Split, an original film that delves into the mysterious recesses of one man’s fractured, gifted mind.

For the film The Guardian calls “a masterful blend of Hitchcock and horror,” Shyamalan's has assembled a strong cast led by James McAvoy (X-Men: First Class, X-Men: Days of Future of Past), Anya Taylor-Joy (The Witch), Betty Buckley (The Happening), Haley Lu Richardson (The Edge of Seventeen) and Jessica Sula (Recovery Road).

In Split, though Kevin (McAvoy) has evidenced 23 personalities—each with unique physical attributes—to his trusted psychiatrist, Dr. Fletcher (Buckley), there remains one still submerged who is set to materialize and dominate all the others. Compelled to abduct three teenage girls led by the willful, observant Casey (Taylor-Joy), Kevin reaches a war for survival among all of those contained within him—as well as everyone around him—as the walls between his compartments shatter apart.

Moviegoers were first introduced to the mysterious and intricate universe of M. Night Shyamalan in 1999 with the worldwide phenomenon The Sixth Sense, which was followed by such blockbusters as Unbreakable and Signs.

The filmmaker began a new chapter in 2015 with his terrifying The Visit, which grossed almost $100 million worldwide. Following the same model as that movie’s production—and to allow for complete creative freedom—Shyamalan made the decision to return to his independent roots by self-financing Split.

“I want to make something new with every single film by doing something that nobody’s ever done,” Shyamalan says. “That’s exciting for me, and it’s also dangerous and problematic, especially when selling it to the world.”

With a more intimate setup, Shyamalan was able to primarily focus his energies on the story and character development by eliminating some of the noise and variables that come with a larger film. “It’s easy to knock me out of my comfort zone, which is a reason why I make smaller movies,” Shyamalan says. “That way I can turn down certain factors so I can hear that creative voice telling me if something we’re doing is off track.”

Shyamalan’s filmmaking style also goes beyond a single genre. “Each film is uniquely his own,” says executive producer Steven Schneider. “He weaves together folktales, legends and other narratives, and blends them with his background and experience. All of his films cover complex themes and characters, and I was amazed by the depth of Split.”

Schneider believes audiences will not only be entertained by Split, but they will be challenged by it. “My hopes are as ambitious as Night’s that the film’s strength in storytelling will spark debate about the complexities of human identity,” he says.

Split is distributed by United International Pictures through Columbia Pictures.

A DISTURBED MAN'S “SPLIT” PERSONALITIES UNRAVEL IN NEW TRAILER

Press release

Universal Pictures has just revealed the main trailer for its creepy, pyschological thriller Split – the latest film from writer/director M. Night Shyamalan (The Visit).

Split stars James McAvoy (X-Men: First Class, X-Men: Days of Future of Past) as Kevin, a man who abducts three teenage girls who suddenly realize that Kevin is one of 23 personalities.

While the mental divisions of those with dissociative identity disorder have long fascinated and eluded science, it is believed that some can also manifest unique physical attributes for each personality, a cognitive and physiological prism within a single being.

Though Kevin (McAvoy) has evidenced 23 personalities to his trusted psychiatrist, Dr. Fletcher (Betty Buckley), there remains one still submerged who is set to materialize and dominate all the others. Compelled to abduct three teenage girls led by the willful, observant Casey (Anya Taylor-Joy), Kevin reaches a war for survival among all of those contained within him—as well as everyone around him—as the walls between his compartments shatter apart.

Split reunites Shyamalan with producer Jason Blum, who produced the filmmaker’s latest commercial and critical success, The Visit.

Split opens in Philippines cinemas on January 18, 2017 and is distributed by United International Pictures through Columbia Pictures.