Good at first, but worse upon reflection

Rating: 6/10 (13 August 2002)

Before I begin, some of the details of this may spoil to movie for you. So I will add a line saying to READ NO FURTHER when details may give some stuff away. You are safe until then.
This is an enjoyable movie. Try not to analyse it too much. If you spend a lot of time thinking about it afterwards then you will come up with some impossibilities that will bother you. M Night Shyamalan always spends a lot of time building. That isn't necessarily a flaw, (obviously since he is being called the next Spielberg), but I don't think building and building always works for action movies. He did this in Unbreakable (which I really liked) but that movie really needed more movement and more action sequences to work better.
In Signs, M Night spends a lot of time building Mel Gibsons character and showing the inner conflicts his family has suffered after a recent tragedy. Then he spends a lot of time building suspense in preparation for the climax. That just might be too much building. I read reviews and have heard DJs say this movie was so scary that people were screaming in the theatres and etc. It never affected me that way. I never felt "scared" one single time. I don't think that was what M Night was going for. There are plenty of tense filled scenes in the dark that keep you on the edge of your seat, but I didn't feel the suspense as well as I have in other movies however. You have to go see this one if you're an M Night Shyamalan fan. If you aren't a fan of his, but are just looking for a cool movie to watch then toss a coin. Every other person will like it and every other person may be slightly disappointed.
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DO NOT READ FURTHER UNTIL AFTER YOU HAVE SEEN THIS MOVIE. DETAILS ARE INCLUDED HERE THAT WILL SPOIL IT FOR YOU!!
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OK. I found a couple of flaws in the movie that really bother me. First of all, Mel Gibson keeps important information about the weaknesses of the aliens from the world. He could have saved millions of people if he had just made a phone call to the authorities telling them about the alien in the pantry. It seems far fetched, but scientists could have taken him and performed tests on him and may have discovered their weakness in time to broadcast it all over the globe before communication black out. And Mel was a PRIEST? He is an ex-priest with no concern for anyone but himself. What church was he ordained in? The Church of the Selfish Mind? Also I have a problem with a priest who blames God for the death of his wife. A priest would not do this. Priests know that death is a part of life and when one dies they go to Heaven. At least according to the Catholic Church. So there is nothing to blame God for. His wife is in a better place. Also priests console grieving family members all of the time on a regular basis. After assuming the role again at the end, he would have lost all credibility as a priest. Who wants to be consoled by a priest who blamed God the first time he lost a loved one? I wouldn't! I wouldn't trust his advice at all.
Also, explain to me again why the aliens can't use their superior technology to bust down a door? Because we might use nuclear weapons? A farmer doesn't have a nuke! Even a child could pick up an axe and get through a door. Not to mention a race of beings with the technology to travel between galaxies. A box of nails and a hammer rendered this superior technology powerless. I have a serious problem with that.
Are you ready for the BIG ONE? Their weakness is water right? Our planet is about 75% water. Would you try to conquer a world that was 75% sulfuric acid? Would you attack a race of beings whose physical bodies were 80% sulfuric acid and who could spit it out of their mouths? And if you did attack them, then wouldn't you wear some kind of suit to protect yourself? These aliens are stupid yet they have mastered technology. This is an impossible combination. They are walking around naked and attacking people without protection or weapons when even the simplest reconnaisance would reveal that the acid that eats through their alien skin is found in abundance in every house in America. We are composed of the element that kills them and they fight us hand-to-hand without any protection at all?

I enjoyed the movie, but after thinking about it now I wish I hadn't seen it. Its hard to believe that the same director wrote Sixth Sense which seemed to contain no major flaws at all. This movie is just chock full of them.
Try again Shyamalan. You can do much better buddy!