The good, the bad, the ugly

Rating: Null/10 (29 January 2003)

There are lots of good things in this film, written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan, of 6TH SENSE fame. He brings you into a world of invaders from space in a different way than most space films. You don't actually see that much of the creatures, but you sense their being there. At times they are terrifying. Also the good involves some pretty spectacular cinematography by the reknown Tak Fujimato, of 6TH SENSE, PHILADELPHIA, THE GLADIATOR and SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, to name a few, who never ceases to amaze me in his creative and artistic eye of the camera. He captures the mood right off the bat as he introduces you to some of the most brilliant outdoor scenes of the vast fields of crops and land in the area. Bravo. The bad is in some of the performances. Unfortunately Mel Gibson gives a droll type of presentation of a man in the middle of the mystery. I found him not very creative or believable. I kept waiting for this fine actor to come through. He didn't. His better scenes were with the children. We have yet another Culkin child acting, by the name of Rory. How many of them are there? This one is less inspiring than the others. But his little sister, played by Abigail Breslin, was wonderful and natural. Culkin could take some lessons from her. I felt he was over the top with his performance. I did like Joaquin Phoenix, as Mel's brother. He captured a very simple quiet performance and was quite believable in his interpretation. Let's see more of Phoenix. Good choice in casting. Then there's Cherry Jones as a police officer, also a good and honest performance. I liked her. And then we have Mr. Shyamalan, himself, in the small role of Ray Reddy, who blames himself for the death of Gibson's wife. The ugly is the monster himself. A sort of combination of the predator, the thing and the body snatcher. Looking like an overgrown plant with human form, he appears briefly, but enough to bring the thrills to the movie goers.
All in all, this was entertaining, but certainly Mel is much more capable of better work.