Pretty good, if not M. Knight's best.

Rating: 7/10 (25 February 2003)

Having enjoyed Sixth Sense and particularly Unbreakable, I was looking forward to seeing this. I enjoyed it for what it was, but I wouldn't put it up there with those previous two films. There were some nice scenes, though, and he has a way of getting some nice spiritual moments to ring through in a way that feels right. My favorite moment was actually the goofiest, when there was the videocam capture of the alien at the children's birthday party (a nice Bigfoot cop, btw). It was kind of goofy, really, but also gave me the feeling of what it would be like to be seeing that in the situation the characters were in, and therefore the reaction was shocking as intended. I thought the performances were very good, particularly Joachin Phoenix (who I didn't like at all in Gladiator). His reactions to what was going on helped make it believable (for example, when seeing the video of the alien). If anything, the film seemed a bit too short. It took a while to get going, and then once it got going a little, it ended. I like what I saw, but I guess I expected a little more, as opposed to Unbreakable and Sixth Sense, which seemed a little more satisfying as a whole. Still worth seeing, though. I think Shyamalan is one of the best filmmakers today, and I like that he doesn't have sex and blood and excessive violence and swearing in his films.
7 out of 10