A mixed bag of two halves

Rating: 6/10 (4 April 2003)

Very rarely does a film have an equal amount of good and bad points. Usually I can say 'I liked that film' or 'I didnt like that film' in varying degrees. With Signs I couldnt decide and ended up liking some and loathing others. **SPOILERS FOLLOW** On the good side first - The trailers led me to expect a film along the lines of a conspiracy theory with a is it/isnt it aliens plot throughout. Very early on though we establish that they are aliens and for me we got to see a more realistic version of Independence Day. I also liked the fact that we were treated to an opinion that there may actually be no such thing as God. So rarely do us atheists get our say in films - even in Contact we were in the wrong! The direction was excellent once more. I like a film that treats its viewers with enough intellegence so that if it doesnt show you something you can let your imagination work it out. From reading the other reviews I can see that this doesnt always work as some people prefer to be shown every detail rather than use their imagination. Final good point - nice to see Mel Gibson not overacting for a change, if anything he underplayed it to produce one of his best roles ever but unfortunately not one of his best films. Bad points - Number one out of the blocks which follows from above is the fact that in the end the 'non believer' turns into a 'believer' once more and everything is right in the world. Perhaps one day we can have a film without everything turning out right because of God. I believe what Mel's character says in that we are alone and it is what we all do that makes a difference NOW because this is all we have. I found the soppy part with the wife a bit distracting that late in the film and her 'vision' of the future a bit convenient - I'm sure they could have found another way to work out that water kills aliens as sure as paper kills stone. Finally I didnt like it's pace. It was slow for the most part but I cant knock that too much as it added a bit of suspense. I'm just glad I saw it on DVD and not at the cinema. Overall, worth a watch but don't expect to be blown away. 6/10.