Mixed bag of nuts, er . . . feelings.

Rating: 7/10 (4 August 2002)

In THE WIZARD OF OZ, Dorothy and her "posse" are mightily impressed by "the great, all powerful Oz" until just before the end. . . . "Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain." . . . As I emerged from the theater after seeing SIGNS, I felt rather like Dorothy did upon her learning the truth behind the awesome hype of Oz.
I really like THE SIXTH SENSE and (I'm in the minority here) I love UNBREAKABLE even more. Unfortunately, too many elsewise amazing movies are deflated by a poor or mishandled denouement. SIGNS is an explosive, well done film up until the last firework, which feels more like one of those white paper snappers you throw at the ground to make a popping noise.

I can't, however, ignore the rest of the movie. MEL GIBSON et al deliver spectacular performances throughout. Even M NIGHT himself does pretty good. If you want to see some wonderful film making, I recommend you see this movie, but . . .
** Truely MINOR SPOILER below, be wary. **
If you don't want to leave the theater frustrated, then at the point where JOAQUIN PHOENIX (Merrill) opens the door to leave the cellar, that is my cue for you to leave the theater and DRAW YOUR OWN CONCLUSION.