The glass was only half full.

Rating: 3/10 (6 August 2002)

I admired Mr. Shyamalan's view into the life of a Superhero in Unbreakable, and everyone liked the Sixth Sense, so I figured Signs would just add to the great track record that he had. Well, I was, to say the least, mildly dissapointed. From the opening credits that reminded me of a high school powerpoint presentation, this "Sci-Fi Thriller" had its work cut for.
Mel Gibson seemed to have his abilities of an actor caged up, which in turn made him simply a name to slap onto the picture. Joaquin Phoenix proved to be the highlight of the picture by adding much needed humor to the story. The two kids were pretty stereotypical for the whole cornfield horror genre.

THE FOLLOWING COMPLAINTS INVOLVE SPOILERS. YOU'VE BEEN WARNED
Sorry for the following rants, but it's the only way I can put them out. First off, the Appearance of Night is a standard in his movies, but his most recent character just doesn't fit into this world. When the Alien is revealed, the broad daylight turns the scene from a creepy first look into a Scooby Doo-like laugh fest. There was not enough outside views of the Alien invasion. The final face off was all out ridiculous. A Hostile Alien would not dance around for two hours threatening to harm a person, it would just go for it. Why in all places in the world does the Middle East figure to use Water to fight off the Aliens? Why Not Seattle or an area with Rainforests? Why do the kids in these movies have to act like all of the life has been taken away by heavy sedatives? Why poisons from a wrist artery? Why not goo? Well, I guess the gas is alright.
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All in all, I was expecting too much. I was hoping for a solid story with A good scare or two.