Not your average Alien movie

Rating: 8/10 (24 September 2002)

After seeing "The Sixth Sense" which to me was a really amazing movie, I was a little disappointed with Shyamalan's "Unbreakable". So I was really eager to see if "Signs" could tell me if "the 6th Sense" had just been a lucky shot or if "Unbreakable" was just a little bump in the road. And to tell the truth, despite what others might say, "Signs" is an amazingly good movie. It just proves to me that Shyamalan is a great director (and a good actor too, cos he's in the movie as well).
Some will say that "Signs" is just a mix of various other movies (The Birds, War of the Worlds, Encounters of the third kind,...) but that just proves they are missing the point of the whole movie. This movie isn't about the aliens. No. It's about a family coming closer together in adversity. The alien-story is almost secondary, but i liked it nonetheless (the part where they show the alien in Brazil is really scary).
The characters are recognizable to everyone and that really isn't that obvious in a science-fiction/thriller movie. Whatever bad (or good) thing happens to the family, you can always relate to them. Mel Gibson is great in this movie (almost as good as in "Braveheart") as are Joaquin Phoenix and both kids. This film is good because like every other Shyamalan movie it has a message: nothing ever 'just happens' by accident. Most things happen for a purpose. And as you'll watch, you'll find out too.
So to be brief: This isn't a story about Aliens invading earth but a story of a family coming closer together (during an Alien invasion).
I give it 8 out of 10.
Have fun watching! It's most certainly worth it.