There’s an old semi-joke among academics that the first superhero wasn’t Superman, the Phantom, or even Hugo Hercules, but Gilgamesh, the central figure of the Sumerian epic poem that bears his name. M. Night Shyamalan’s last undeniably excellent movie takes that idea to heart – that superheroes have always been among us, even if we never had the word for them. In this examination of comics as modern myth cycles, Bruce Willis’ quiet performance as a regular Joe with greatness thrust upon him is perfectly counterbalanced by Samuel L. Jackson’s disturbing origin story for a sidekick who isn’t all he seems. – Richard Whittaker
