Split Review

       

           Psychological thrillers is one of my, if not my favorite sub genre when it comes to films. Whether it be Psycho, The Silence of the Lambs, The Shining, or even The Prestige,  this sub genre is one that always gets me excited. So when I heard about Split, I was really looking forward to seeing it. You have James McAvoy, an actor I really appreciated and one who was underrated. You have M.Night Shymalan directing it. Say what you want about him but, he has made two really good movies with The Sixth Sense and Unbreakable. That potential is in him. I wanted Shymalan to make a triumphant return with Split after he has made a series of bad films (The Visit, Signs, The Happening, The Village, The Last Airbender, After Earth). So is Split the triumphant return we have wanted from Shymalan? No. No it is not.
          This film tries way to hard. It punches you in the face with the message of "Look at me! I'm one of the best thrillers of the past 10 years!" It focuses too much on being a psychological thriller, that it forgot to have any real substance to it. The best way I can describe it is like this.....
          Think of your dream car. Imagine that you get a chance to own that car. You see the car in the distance and you walk up to it knowing that it's going to be yours. The exterior is everything you dreamed of. The moment is finally here. You get to the car and, the is no interior. There is no engine. There is nothing but the car and it's fabulous exterior. This car tried so hard to be the car of your dreams, that it forgot to complete its self. That's how I feel about Split. It tried so hard to be the best psychological thriller of the decade that it forgot to have any real substance to it.
          The last thing you should be in a thriller is bored. You will be bored watching this movie. There just isn't enough there to grab your attention, or even keep your attention. The only thing that will somewhat keep your interest is James McAvoy's performance. I can only imagine how hard it is for an actor to portray multiple characters in a movie and be constantly switching from one, to another all throughout the film. As I said in my intro, McAvoy is an actor who was underrated. I believe, and I hope that this movie gives McAvoy the attention he deserves.
          To sum it up, Split is a movie that lacks any real substance. It focuses too much on being a return to form for Shymalan that it ends up being a real lackluster. If I was in charge of putting a quote on this movie poster it would be "The try-hard movie of the year!"
I am going to give Split a 2.5/5.