Think about what the movie is trying to accomplish

Rating: 8/10 (23 August 2002)

SPOILERS...
People who are writing off the whole movie just because of some variations of the following reasons need to think some things over....
1. Why did they have to show the alien at the end? He looked stupid. 2. Why would intelligent beings prone to water attack a planet made mostly of water with no suits or anything? 3. The last shot is boring.
I can answer all of these reasons to not like the movie in a few sentences. First off, this may be a movie that involves space aliens but it is not a science-fiction movie. The alien invasion serves as the life-altering event needed to jar Mel Gibson's faith back into place.
Yes, it seems trivial that a dying wife's last words trigger the husband to tell his brother to beat an alien up with a baseball bat. But isn't that how things work in life? How "SIGNS" show up in day-to-day life?
The movie comes down to the monologue on the couch. The world can be separated into two groups. One who believe in signs of a higher power and those who don't. This is a movie that shows us a good man's journey between those two. That's the reason the movie didn't delve into any alien-discussions outside of the immediate family. No presidental meetings, no nuclear bomb plans, no military strategies, no reasons for them coming here.
Shyalaman had to put fannies in the seats. It's a summer blockbuster. So why not maybe "trick" people into thinking it's another basic blockbuster when it really is so much more. Isn't that how Sixth Sense fooled us all.
One last thing, Think of the film's opening shot: a hazy shot of the land around the house through a window. Now, think of the last shot: the camera pulling out from that same window except now the window is broken and we can see clearly now, no distortion thanks to the window. Father Ness can see clearly now too. Think about it.