Just OK

Rating: 5/10 (20 June 2008)

Mr Shymalan, where have you gone?
Let's be perfectly clear, this is no 6th Sense, or even Signs. It's better than Lady In The Water, but thats not hard to do. That said, it's still a decent flick. Keeps your attention, some imaginative scenes, and storytelling. The idea was good, but the execution and development were bland by Shymalan's own standards.
This is not Marky Mark's finest hour, matter of fact, none of these actors put in a very memorable performance. The dialogue was very much lacking. The characters were simple and straight forward, most came and went without any development. None very believable, especially Private Auster and the Mrs. Jones. Not so much because they were poor actors, just poor characters. A bumbling idiot as an Army guy and a paranoid reclusive old woman with a nasty attitude, but a sense of hospitality for no apparent reason? Sorry, just not quite believable to me.
I thought the camera work was very good, lots of sweeping scenes and great odd-angle shots. Colorful at times, dark and eerie at times. Well done.
******MINOR SPOILER COMMENT*******
As far as the story. Do we really need yet another avenue for left-wing environmentalist propaganda? Global Warming? Gov't conspiracy? C'mon M Night, you used to be way beyond this sort of thing. I still love the work but it's really a disappointment to see another director fall into the "we are __________(fill in the blank.. Americans, Humans, polluters, etc.), and therefore we are evil and should be punished" mold that envelopes and dominates Hollywood. M.N.S. used to be a breathe of fresh air, now he seems to have discarded his individualism to become just another stiff towing the radical left message that owns Hollywood.