Uninspired film that could have been much more!

Rating: 4/10 (11 October 2008)

Films with an underlying political message are 50-50 when it comes to accomplishing what it sets out to do. First they must deliver an entertaining movie. Second they must cleverly insert the underlying theme throughout the film so the viewer appreciated both aspects. "The Happening" accomplishes neither. Interesting premise offered the writer & director Shamalyan the opportunity his first hit film since "Signs". Unfortunately, unlike "The Day After Tomorrow", he fails at grabbing a hold of his audience and dragging them in. His directing style stays consistent here, although its not the type of genre to support the style he prefers. What made Hitchcock great (which you can tell is the inspiration for a lot of the directors style) was no matter what type of film he was doing, his nuances were present but he could adapt to the genre he was doing. It seemed as if this film was thrown together without the same attention to detail as "The Sixth Sense" and "Signs". I am also one of the few that truly enjoyed the emotional journey of "The Lady in the Water". I thought that film had a lot of passion and creativity. "The Happening" is a one note film. One cannot fault Mark Wahlberg as he does his best with the script he can. However, a lot of things go unexplained in this film which if this were a good film, one would spend time trying to come up with their own conclusions. This film finishes, and you don't care as to the reasons why at the end.