Not Bad, But Not As Good As Expected

Rating: 6/10 (4 August 2002)

I went to see this movie with such high expectations. The trailer was great, The Sixth Sense was awesome and my hopes were that M. Night would live up to the same high standard on this film. Sadly though, he didn't. The subject matter was juicy, the possibilities were endless, and although I did scream a couple of times in my seat, the movie never gave the payoff that one waits for in a stellar film. Gibson was great, no fault on his part, as was Joaquin Phoenix and the two kids, but the film seemed to missing something in the equation that took it out of the league of exceptional and into the category of a near miss. After having looked forward to seeing this film for a month, it was a letdown. That being said, it's still a better summer movie than most other choices and certainly seemed to satisfy a lot of other audience members - my advice, see it on a weekend afternoon when you've got some extra time on your hands to kill.