What the Hell Was This Story About?

Rating: 6/10 (15 June 2008)

The film is moderately suspenseful and clever. But it isn't about aliens at all. The film is about a man who lost faith when his wife died and he lost courage. His family then fell victim to the usual depredations of fear and paranoia. In this case, an irrational fear of aliens. The "uncle" character played by Joachim Phoenix was someone who tried to be a big league ball player. He made some memorable plays but he was know as the strike out king because he gave up on himself. Mel Gibson spends the film refuting his old position as a father - a minister, and as a dad to his kids. It takes the aliens to make him come to terms with his wife's death and become the father for his kids, and his community. Having said all this, M. Knight Shamalan is a pussy. He uses suspense and horror genres to convey Normal Rockwell ideals of family and societal values. What a jerk!