M. Night Shyamalan's Sign should read "Do Not Enter"

Rating: 2/10 (3 August 2002)

I've seen "The Sixth Sense", "Unbreakable", and now "Signs". I would rate "The Sixth Sense" an 8, "Unbreakable" a 5, and "Signs" a 2. I am beginning to think that we have already seen the best that Mr. Shyamalan has to offer.
*** SPOILERS BELOW ***

Artistic Impressions: It's hard to figure out what this movie was trying to be. Was it a new look at an alien invasion movie? Nope. It seemed like a remake of "War of the Worlds". Was it a horror movie? Nah. It never seemed to relate to the viewer enough to get the viewer truly scared. A character exploration? Possibly, although the only character really being explored was Mel Gibson's. I never felt like I cared enough about his character to really want to see any more depth. Best that I can figure is that the movie is just trying to be another "revenue enhancer" for Touchstone Pictures.
Pacing: The story was slow (as was true in M. Night Shyamalan's other movies). There was enough going on in the movie to keep me involved, but only barely. There were a few times that I looked at my watch to see how much of the movie was left (not a good sign). However, the few "scary moments" were well placed and gave me a little jump, even when I knew what was going on. The first couple of alien sightings were very well done.
Acting: The acting was mostly decent, although the children (as usual in Hollywood) were totally unrealistic. Mel's acting was good, but the character he was handed to play never really grabbed me.
Special Effects: Very good. Everything was cohesive visually and audibly. There wasn't any time that I caught myself thinking, "Cool special effects!". (This is a *very* good sign). I firmly believe that special effects, when done correctly, shouldn't draw attention to themselves. Special effects should make a story more believable, not become the story.
Strengths: Not much that I can think of here that I haven't mentioned already.
Weaknesses: Poor plot cohesion. "Signs" is a story about a potential alien invasion. Why are the aliens invading? We never find out. Why didn't the aliens use their advanced technology to invade us? A weak quote from a goofy dime-store book about aliens solved that problem. One thing about that book, though - it was always right about what the aliens would do. Funny how that happens in movies, hmmm ;-)? Why did the aliens leave after just a few days? We never truly found out, although I would expect that they would have blasted the crap out of our planet if we had "beaten" them as easily as we did in the movie.
Summary: Although the character development is decent, the main plotline was very weak. Don't go unless you feel that you really have to.