A Happy Surprise (Minor Plot Spoilers)

Rating: Null/10 (7 August 2002)

I'm a huge fan of M. Night Shyamalan's. I thought "The Sixth Sense" was great and consider "Unbreakable" one of the best movies I've ever seen, so I was obviously looking forward to "Signs". I wasn't disappointed.
I went into "Signs" expecting something completely different than what it was. I thought it would be more about the crop signs and aliens. Being a Shyamalan film, I expected it to be different, but I didn't expect anything like this. What surprised me was that this is not about an alien invasion or even crop circles. Yes, they are devices used to spark the story, but they could have been replaced with another setup and the film could have easily told the same story. More than aliens or crop circles, this is a film about faith, losing it and gaining it back.
If I have a problem with the film, it's that I wanted to know more. More about what the aliens, more about how the rest of the world reacted. Ultimately, however, that is not what the movie is about. It is about Mel Gibson's character's search for his lost faith.
I've read comments from this and other sites saying the aliens were too stupid with their strategies and they were weak and there weren't enough of them and other things the aliens should have done better if they were so advanced. The thing is, they explain that this is merely a small recon wave of them to check things out. That explains the small number of them and the lack of weapons.
The movie is expertly executed, building up suspense, adding small character quirks and issues that seem insignificant- just minor character development, but in the climax come together perfectly without seeming contrived.

This is a great film. Possibly Shyamalan's best ("Unbreakable" may still be better) and easily one of the best (if not THE best) of the year so far. See it without any expectation about what is going to happen and just go where it takes you, you won't be disappointed- and if you are, you're wrong.

10/10