M. Night Shyamalan is a genius!

Rating: 9/10 (23 July 2004)

*-Catch it on TV **-Worth a Rental ***-Buy it Used/On Sale ****-Buy it New/Top Dollar *****-Worthy of a Blind Buy
M. Night Shyamalan is a genius storyteller and filmmaker. It is as simply put as that. His third commercial film is his greatest acheivement since Unbreakable. Signs is not an alien invasion movie. It is the story of a man who, after a tragic event, loses his faith in God and, following a worldwide event, regains it. Signs is the type of film that is scary the first time around and fun to watch the second and third. It's fun to see how Night set us up for the climax of the film by including a lot of exposition throughout the rest of it.
Shyamalan brings back the atmospheric creepiness from The Sixth Sense and adds quite a bit of comic relief that was absent in his previous work. Mel Gibson's work as Graham Hess, a widowed former reverend and father of two young children, is fantastic. Joaquin Phoenix is very impressive as Graham's younger brother, and former minor league baseball player, Merrill. Abigail Breslin and Rory Culkin are Bo and Morgan Hess in the film. Both children are terrific and, along with Phoenix, provide most of the comic relief.

Night's trademark slow pacing is still present in this film although not as much as in The Sixth Sense and Unbreakable. The pacing fits the story to a tee and helps create and build the tension towards the true nature of the crop circles in the film. James Newton Howard provides another brilliant score and enhances the experience considerably. His music is not as explosive as it was for me in Unbreakable but it was brilliant nonetheless.

Overall this is M. Night Shyamalan's strongest film. I do not consider it the masterpiece that I felt The Sixth Sense was, I was just more drawn to the story this time around. If you are a fan of The Sixth Sense and Unbreakable, then you will not be disappointed by Signs. It is surely a ***** film and is highly recommended.