good

Rating: 10/10 (24 October 2003)

I dont know who came up with the ' bright idea' of advertising the movie as a ' extra-terrestrial' thriller but this is one movie that the big bosses at the studios in Hollywood could have advertised better. Independence Day kind of film.
I beg to differ.
It seems to me that the two most important things in life are FAITH and FAMILY and not in that order and this film explores them both beautifully.
Faith is important in anything one does,in life ,in work,in god ,in the one you love,in your books ..and need I say about ones Family(sure we might not totally 'love' some of them).
ONE THING YOU SHOULDNT DO:
please dont take this movie at face value...that is dont expect a movie about aliens and please dont expect a lesson in science from the movie.
what the films about?
the film center around one family(meaning :no SUBPLOTS )whose head is A MINISTER (played brilliantly by Mel Gibson),he loses his wife in a horrible car accident and also as a result loses his trust and belief in god.
His family includes his brother(Joaquin Phoenix...emperor in GLADIATOR),his daughter and son(two of the cutest kids you can hope to find) all characters portrayed with a great deal of emotion.
The family is taken through a emotional roller coaster as a result of the crop circles and the notion of aliens invading the planet.
THE most amazing part of the movie????
In such a situation the entire family normally looks up to the head (in this case MEL GIBSON),instead they find that he is cracking under pressure and the thought that he could lose his entire family.
the ENDING?
some of the people I know didnt enjoy the ending too much as they felt it was too superficial and not too dramatic,again I beg to differ.
I am not gonna give it away But if you are gonna watch the film,my advice purely is,do not take it as it comes,think about it.
If the movie does not make you ask yourself some basic questions about god or faith ;then it does mean that the desired effect which shyamalan had hoped to bring through hasnt worked.
As for the coincidences part,it is left to each one of us to take in our own way