In a year of great movies, this is one of the best

Rating: 10/10 (2 August 2002)

Writer/director M. Night Shyamalan is known for his "A"-movie treatment of "B"-movie subjects. "Signs" easily could have become another Independence Day, with Mel Gibson saving the universe from the threat of alien invasion. Instead, Shyamalan chose to look at this rather silly subject from another point of view - that of an average, small-town family.
Indeed, Shyamalan focuses on the more human aspects of an alien invasion, and how it affects the personal and moral beliefs of Gibson's character, Graham. The actors were not a foil for the special effects; the aliens instead contributed towards the fine acting. Early on, Shyamalan creates a tense, disorienting mood, and keeps building it until the end.
Like "The Sixth Sense," and "Unbreakable," the ending of this movie is unpredictable, yet hindsight makes it unevitable. Also like Shyamalan's previous films, "Signs" deals with more esoteric ideas: in this case, with the nature of fate and predestination. Is there a hand, guiding everything we do? Do miracles exist, or do we face life's blows alone? M. Night Shyamalan answers these questions in a way few can - with excellent writing and solid filmmaking. The Orson Welles of this era, Shyamalan has become a master manipulator of both emotions and expectations, and he uses his talents to their fullest in "Signs." Don't go to this movie with any expectations, and you will be thoroughly rewarded.