Not a Typical Sci-Fi Thriller

Rating: 8/10 (28 May 2010)

This a very good movie . Mel Gibson's and Joaquin Phoenix's characters are not over the top and they are like a real family. Mel Gibson gets to try to portray an understated, confused, and emotionally scarred character. Joaquin also gets play a similar character, though he is less inhibited than Mel Gibson. Their calm, sullen personalities contrast with the unbearable situation they find themselves in. Directed by M. Night Shyamalan, this is one of his best movies and a very underrated one at that. I saw this movie when it was released back in 2002 and I was very impressed and I have seen it quite a few times since then. I didn't even know that the cute little Bo was Abigail Breslin until last night when I was reading her acting credits. I like that girl very much and she is immensely talented.
Rev. Graham Hess (Mel Gibson) is a former priest who has lost his faith after his wife was killed in a freak car accident. Six months later, he discovers a gigantic crop circle in his yard. Similar events begin to happen all over the world. Graham's children, Bo (Abigail Breslin) and Morgan (Rory Culkin) think it is aliens, his brother, Merrill (Joaquin Phoenix) thinks it's pranksters, and Graham doesn't know what to think. The crop circles cause a media frenzy and test Graham's faith as he journeys to find out the truth behind the crop circles. When the truth is discovered and it turns out his children are right and the aliens have come to take over the planet, it becomes a battle to save his children from the aliens.
One of the reasons why this film is hated by some is the idiocy of the aliens. They can make huge crop circles in the middle of the night without anybody noticing, but they can't break down a door and enter into a house!! Even I was surprised, but not angered. It is like in some vampire movies where you have to open the door and invite the vampires in for them to come inside a home. The direction is amazing and Mel, Joaquin and the kids give awesome performances. Mel Gibson's character doesn't have as much dialogue as his kids have. Abigail Breslin is so cute in the movie. She is a attention grabber even when she doesn't have any dialogues and I loved her. Rory Culkin as the son who has asthma is also quite good. The atmosphere is bleak and they are all alone in their home. They do not contact other people much and this is a major factor in the delivery of the movie. Shyamalan is interested more in the human drama within the family, rather than the invasion itself, that is where he is brilliant. All the built up tensions in the family is being thrown right into each other's face due to the impending apocalypse. The reason for the alien invasion and their subsequent running away to their home planet may have come off cheesily, but it didn't. It seemed very realistic that water could be like acid to these creatures. Though the aliens come in only a couple of scenes, the tension is immense and I got scared a couple of times. The climax when Graham tells Merril to swing away is amazing. The aliens could have destroyed Earth by their weapons and all humans could have been extinguished and they could have won. Or humans could have blasted them away from the skies. Why didn't they do that? That was the problem with this movie. Still, it is brilliant if you do not think about that.
8/10