Did I Blink & Miss Something??

Rating: 8/10 (3 August 2002)

What a deal! Mel & his blue eyes, Joaquin & his latent darkness. Shyamalan &, well - what he does best. It's a combination that couldn't miss, right? Right. But I think I missed something. Something was supposed to happen in this darkly vague little film. Something scary. Something remarkable. Something you'd talk over with your friends for weeks, like the "Sixth Sense" ending, or who Sam Jackson really was in "Unbreakable". Where did it go? It was promised. It was supposed to be so nerve-rattling you wouldn't forget it. I kept clutching my husband's pant leg thinking, "any second now" and "this is it". But the second never came and "it" never happened.

Mel was soulful as the former minister baling on his faith. Joaquin was moving as the directionless younger brother. The kids were cute. I ever remarked how realistic the kid's asthma scenes were. But where was "it"?
Heartily disappointed, I left the theater wondering if I'd been conned by the trailer. That tongue of fear never crept up my spine. The hairs on the back of my neck never stood up. All I did was wrinkle my husband's pants for no reason. Not even anything red that you could recall later.
See the movie for Mel. Or Joaquin. Or Mel again. But don't go expecting the movie promised in the trailer. Maybe you'll be afraid - but not very afraid. There's nothing more scary beyond the concession prices with this movie. And you'll feel a little robbed, like maybe Shyamalan was - of an ending...