M. Night's first R-rated flick falls flat

Rating: 2/10 (26 October 2008)

I'm not going to start out my review by sighting my enjoyment of Mr. Shyamalan's first three cinematic ventures, as trying to compare any film with a director/writer's previous endeavors is an exercise in futility. I declare that a movie must rest upon its' own laurels as an entertaining and worthwhile theater experience, regardless of whomever is at the helm. That being said, I can not remember a more dreadfully slopped together, poorly acted and painfully wretched attempt at a film that has come along in some time.
For a movie that was hyped up to be M. Night Shyamalan's grand entrance into the R-rated genre, I found myself nearly in tears at the total lack of a cohesive storyline, character development or sensible dialogue. I didn't know whether to laugh, to cry or to simply shake my head in disbelief, yet I found myself performing all three for an hour and thirty minutes. Some have posted that those who criticized this film "didn't get the deeper message" and were being "overly-negative." Well, I GOT the message, it was just put into the clumsiest, least-thought-through wrapper possible.
Let me put it this way: If you were making a point to someone, two predominant choices would be presented. Either A: You could take a ball-peen hammer and bludgeon them to death. Or B: Take a while, maybe a few hours, and come up with a well-developed, sensible argument to explain your stance.
The second option will undoubtedly take some time, but a clear and concise point would be made, leaving both parties feeling relatively better concerning the matter. The former, while more to the point, leaves the recipient(s) irrevocably damaged, along with a terrible mess to clean up.
I came into this movie leaving my expectations at the door, hoping that despite the mixed bag of tricks Mr. Shyamalan has presented audiences, I would finish having watched at least an entertaining film, if not perhaps a quality one. Instead, what I ended up getting was a bad case of "Viewer's Remorse" and a subtraction of time that could have been spent re-watching "Iron Man." If you enjoy movies that make sense or even campy B-movies that keep you entertained, DO NOT watch this waste of celluloid.