Pleasantly Surprised

Rating: 8/10 (15 June 2008)

I usually try to avoid hearing reviews of movies, fearing that they might influence me and prevent me from seeing a film objectively. I wasn't successful with this one: I heard reviews saying it was terrible, and so on, and I walked into the theater not knowing what to expect, but fearing the worst. Ultimately, I was pleasantly surprised.
Let me start off by saying that this film isn't perfect. The acting is often sub-par, the dialogue sometimes "off", it felt rushed in a few places, and its ending was a little too ambiguous for my taste (not something I complain about very often). Overall, I felt it was weaker than some of Shyamalan's other films (including "The Village", which I felt was very underrated).
That being said, I generally found it enjoyable. I found myself glued to my seat, jumping at the scary moments and laughing at most of its humorous moments. It had Shyamalan's trademark "feel", which I liked. I thought it was interesting, original, and thought provoking. Flaws and all, my impression was generally positive.
And it seems I wasn't alone in my theater. No one got up and walked out. A lot of the other people seemed to jump and laugh along with me. The people I went to see the movie with enjoyed it as well.
Now, there are some people, and will continue to be some people, who are harder on this film than it deserves. Some of these people will probably complain that it was pointless (an opinion, one which I disagree with). Some will focus on the flaws at the expense of the film's positive traits. And still others won't even give it a chance; as sad as it may be, there are some who condemned this movie months before it came out, and I find it hard to believe that these people watched the film objectively.
Criticize Shyamalan all you want (and there is a small circle of devoted Shyamalan haters on this site), but I enjoy his movies, and this one, as imperfect as it may be, is little different.