Um, The Emperor Has No Clothes

Rating: Null/10 (6 August 2002)

Every time I see one of M. Night's films, I find myself admiring the technical aspects -- the framing, the attention to detail, the deliberate pacing -- more than I admire the end result.
In other words, he succeeds as a technician, but really fails to entertain. This one is no exception. I WANT to like this movie, but despite some genuinely creepy moments, I could not. He and Spielberg suffer from a similar problem -- both are spoiled rich kids who never grew up. This is reflected in their work, by the complete lack of maturity and true depth. They both have a very adolescent view of adulthood and the world, not the adult view of adulthood and the world. Spielberg is finally maturing a bit, but Manoj has some growing up to do. Admittedly, I still like his work better than most of the Hollywood crap out today, and he shows some promise. That is what makes it even more frustrating -- promise that has not yet been fulfilled. If Hollywood had more like him, and fewer hacks like Michael Bay and his ilk, then I would be a little more hopeful about the future of American film, but not much.
Check it out, enjoy it (or not, you brainless MTV types), and understand that movies don't have to be fast paced to be entertaining, but that this one could have been much better with some more time spent on the script.