Something Different

Rating: 4/10 (20 June 2008)

I am a big Shymalan fan, The Sixth Sense was well done, and Unbreakable was something different all together with his take on the comic book hero. Signs was a brilliant film, sure there were some parts that were "quirky" but it still delivered. The Village was a buffet of great actors and proof that you can make a great movie for an hour and ten minutes. Lady and the Water was a pretty good flick, regardless of others have said, it is one of my favorite fantasy films I have watched since "The NeverEnding Story".
Now comes The Happening, an apocalyptic film about a family that goes on the run after what is initially reported as supposed terrorist attacks in New York. The first bit of it was very intriguing, it helped build suspense for what was going to happen next. Then came in Mark Walhberg's character, a high school science teacher who starts a open conversation with his class about disappearing honey bees. While I never thought Marky Mark would fit all that well as a ordinary guy in a flick but for the first half hour or so, he pulls it off quite well. But something happened, maybe it was the time schedule, or maybe a combination of both wanting to get this film out the door and the time schedule. The acting for whatever reason seemed to slip gradually as the movie progressed, the visual presentation of the film was still top notch. Then came in the gore, people jumping off roofs or shooting themselves in the face and many others, it begged the question if it was Night's idea alone to push the film to an "R" rating. It just didn't seem in place for a director that exploited on showing you so little.
There is no twist ending, and I don't expect to ever see another one from another sham flick again. The idea and concept of the movie as a whole was something amazingly different and unique in it's own way, but yet it still rang as another "we need to watch out for the environment" flick. You can argue that this film was a less action packed version of "The Day After Tomorrow" but with better science....I suppose.
But in the end, for what it's worth, I still enjoyed the movie, I feel that the message of the movie could have been picked up without the extra violence. It is by far Night's weakest film, but when the Avatar trilogy is done, you can guarantee that I will be at the theaters to watch his next film.