Self-serving, pretentious narcissism at it's worse

Rating: 5/10 (7 August 2002)

Okay. Let's give Shyamalan credit. The Sixth Sense was an excellent film. Unbreakable? It should have been called Unwatchable. Signs falls somewhere between the two (closer to the Unbreakable side.)
First off. M. Night Shyamalan is FULL of himself! His ego is pouring out of every frame of this film. During the final scene I was seriously expecting him to appear on screen, jumping up and down while waving his arms screaming out "Look at me! Look at me! Aren't I clever?"
Actually, no "Night" you're not. I won't even get into that ridiculous nickname he gave himself... I will, however get into this ridiculous movie. ENOUGH of the gratuitous cameos. ENOUGH of the clever "surprise" endings. It worked for Sixth Sense, but it's time to move on and find a different writing style. (By the way, the ending of Signs isn't that clever. It's trying really hard to be, but it's not. The set up is awkward and the pay-off is clumsy.) ENOUGH with the superfluous credit he gives himself. I can't think of any other directors who credit themselves at the beginning AND the end of the film. But Shyamalan does, and it is really lacking in taste. The first credit to appear at the close of the film: "An M. Night Shyamalan Film." BUT THE FONT IS SO LARGE THAT IT TAKES UP THE ENTIRE SCREEN! It comes across as self- serving, pretentious, and narcissistic. Nobody wants to see his name spelled with four-foot tall letters (except one person: M. Night Shyamalan).
All that aside, basically Signs is a bit slow to start, gets really good, but totally blows it in the ending. I read one review of this film where the critic compared Signs to eating a really good meal...but you find a nasty hair in your food and it ruins it all. That pretty much sums it up. DON'T see this film. The more money Signs makes, the larger Shyamalan's ego will get, and we'll be stuck with his crappy films for years to come. And all that does is take attention away from the really talented filmmakers out there who actually deserve the recognition.
Or maybe he'll learn to humble himself and his next film will be worthwhile...we'll have to wait and see.