I'm oh so very confused...

Rating: 6/10 (17 July 2002)

I, like many other people, waited anxiously for this film's release. However, after watching a screening of it I was left somewhat confused.
The sci-fi element of the film left much to be desired as it was practically non-existant until the last 10 minutes. In fact, it seems to be thrown in there for the sake of adding some special fx and getting interest from the public eye.
The films director (M Night Shyamalan) got himself off to a great start with The 6th sense, then met with mixed reviews over Unbreakable; a film which took a great deal of time to get to it's point but payed off in the end with one of Shyamalan's surprise thought provoking endings. I was half expecting the same thing from this film about half way through(a long subtle trail to a great finish) but this was not the case.
Instead, the film drags on and on in a slow build up fashion which leads to a great deal of nothing. If that thought provoking ending is in there, I must have missed it. I suppose it was left forgotten, boarded up the house with the many glasses of water, a baseball bat, and a a holy man whose lost his faith.
Signs does give a good performance from Gibson and fair performances from the rest of the cast, including Shyamalan himself (who actually played an important plot character). But alas, unlike Gibson's character, I did not regain my faith in the end, however it is diminishing in Shyamalan with each passing film.
6/10