Didn't like the message or the style

Rating: 6/10 (5 August 2002)

The lone highlight of this film was the one spot I expected to deliver the least: Mel Gibson. Though nearly every character was fairly superficial and flat, Gibson's Graham Hess was well-developed, deep, engaging and likeable, despite the writer's lame attempts at trite humor. The rest of the film seemed to remain on the surface, with poor acting and worse character-development in most of the supporting roles, especially Officer Paski. Most of all, I was turned-off by the over-riding message of the film. I have never been a fan of those who subscribe to the ideology that there are no coincidences. There are countless millions of opportunities for wild coincidences every second, and to believe that when you are lucky, it is because God planned it that way, and when others are unlucky, it is, likewise, supposed to be that way. God simply does not wish to protect them? If God wanted to protect this family, he could've done it simply by having the aliens land in another field, as opposed to setting up this elaborate scheme of endless coincidences that contributed to their survival.
At least he Shyamalan has a message, which is more than I can say for 99% of the film-makers out there today. Still, his sense of humor and sense of emotion have never succeeded in drawing me in.