Potential to be a great film

Rating: Null/10 (6 August 2002)

SPOILERS ALERT I went into signs with some preconcieved notions about what to expect. The trailers had led me to believe that the movie was going to be about the mysterious crop circles and a full suspense film. I understand that comic relief is needed at times to lighten the tension of a film but it was used so frequently that no atmosphere of any kind could be created. The characters seemed to behave in a strange non human manner and never seemed phased by the events that were unfolding. There were a few things that really bothered me throughout.
1. Why at no point did Graham(Mel Gibson) or anyone else in his family have a weapon for protection 2. The directors acting was poor and he seemed very out of place 3. The sheriff's choice for casting was very poor and the actress did a poor job delivering her unfunny lines.
The movie is not without some saving characteristics however. There are many genuinely frightening moments, and some great moments of tension. Despite what many other people here have said the ending was one of the best parts of the film. It made you realize how much more effort had been put together in crafting the plot of the film and introduced a series of important themes to the movie. In horror films such as this, the best way to create suspense is to leave the creature up to the viewers imagination. By fully showing the creature at the conclusion, the horrible image of the aliens in my mind had been majorly downplayed thanks to fairly standerd effects. Overall i felt that the films good moments were overshadowed by too many problems and that this movie is simply a tease of what could have been one of the most frightening films of all time.