'SIGNS' of a weak script.

Rating: Null/10 (9 August 2002)

Being a fan of "The Sixth Sense" and "Unbreakable", I was largely disappointed with this latest effort from M. Night Shyamalan. I felt the script was weak on several levels. First is the whole 'former priest who has lost his faith' cliche. We've seen this premise done much better in numerous other films. Second is the crop circles as 'signs' of the impending invasion. I hardly think that a highly intelligent race of aliens, already able to navigate their way here from some distant planet would need to map out navigational landmarks with the use of crop circles. Third, and perhaps the most absurd, is the ability to destroy the hostile aliens with mere water. This premise works for wicked witches, but doesn't fly here. The hostile and highly intelligent aliens would hardly mount an invasion without first investigating all the possible dangers that a new world might hold. Water being one of the fundamental ingredients for life throughout the cosmos, the aliens surely would have encountered it before, and, being as susceptible to it as they are, would not the act of breathing our air, given them problems as well? It would seem that M. Night opted for a quick, and I might add, cheap method for defeating the aliens. I realize that M. Night didn't want to redo War of the Worlds, but he could have given us more in the way of the invasion and the battle to defeat them, with a more plausible outcome. Fourth, this movie was neither scary nor suspenseful. It actually works better as a comedy, as there were several comical moments. And there were other implausible events as well. Aliens that produce poisonous gases, and yet able to be easily defeated with a baseball bat. Why did the alien not use that defense against his attacker(s). An alien seemingly unable to escape a locked pantry, or break through old rotten boards over the windows. Aliens bent on destruction, would surely not let a few boards or a locked door stop them. Again, not plausible, and really, when you think about it, this movie was nothing more than a modernized version of "The Patriot", and not nearly as good. You've got the alien invaders (redcoats), the widower (struggling not with his faith in religion, but with his countrymen), and his attempts to save his children. All in all, a very weak effort from a director and screenwriter who showed such promise in his previous efforts. Sorry all you M. Night fans, I have to give this one a D-.