Not Happening

Rating: 2/10 (18 April 2009)

Let me get this out of the way: I haven't seen a film by Shyalaman that I didn't like. I find it unfair that everyone compares all his films to The Sixth Sense. Whenever I read a review of one of his films, there's always a reference somewhere to how it "wasn't as good as The Sixth Sense" or something like that, so I prefer to judge his films on their own merit. Unbreakable was probably the closest one I came to not liking, but it still kept me captivated. Signs I thoroughly enjoyed, partly due to the great performances (it was one of Mel Gibson's last films before he went crazy). I really liked The Village, even if the 'twist' was kinda dumb, but there was more to that film other than the surprise ending. Yes, I even liked Lady in the Water (especially the score by James Newton Howard). But The Happening? Not only is this the worst film by Shyamalan to come out, its one of the very few films where i came close to getting up and turning off the DVD player. I rented it knowing that people hated it, but people also hated most of the other Shyamalan films I liked. However I was very disappointed by The Happening. Everything about it felt lazy: the script, the acting, the story, the 'twist', the score (I almost felt like James Newton Howard was just as bored by the film, especially compared to his other excellent scores). Every actor and actress, not matter how good they are, end up being vastly under-utilized. Mark Wahlberg looks confused and barely able to hide his 'I can't believe I'm doing this' expression. Zooey Deschanel is just sort of 'there', but hardly. Only John Leguizamo manages to pull off a performance that elicits any emotional response, though it is very short lived. The way I see it, The Happening is a good idea gone wrong. It had the potential to be a great disaster film, but its hampered by silly ideas (Run away from the wind!) and characters you couldn't give a toss about. The biggest tragedy is that it doesn't feel like a Shyamalan film. The great cinematography is missing, as is the emotional score. The characters are one dimensional, most existing as a foil for another character. Even the 'shocking' death scenes are few and far between, and some border on either mundane (People hanging from trees; seen it before too many times) or downright silly (the guy feeding himself to the lions felt too unrealistic; it was a great idea, but lions would be more prone to jumping on you and tearing off your jugular rather than gingerly tearing off your arm). Hopefully Shyamalan can bring back some of the magic for The Last Airbender.