Nothing Happens

Rating: 2/10 (21 June 2008)

I don't know why I keep hoping M. Night Shyamalan will repeat his coup of "The Sixth Sense." His writing seems to go downhill with each new release.
After about 10-15 minutes of some really frightening events," the film deteriorates into a totally predictable and transparent plot. (I'm not sure that I can use the word "plot.")You don't really need to be warned about any spoilers I might accidentally let slip, because you'll know what's going to happen before it does. Seeing wind-swept trees and fields swaying "ominously" in the breeze is not my idea of a good scare. Seeing a car drive up to the lead actors to tell them "There are dead bodies up that road" hardly comes as a surprise. The premise is obvious and heavy handed and the acting is poor. I anticipated the ending long before it "happened."
There is no character development because there's nothing to develop. If there were, the casting would have been even more absurd than it is. Mark Wahlberg is not a favorite of mine, although he was decent in "The Departed." But then look at the cast he had to work with in that film. He's totally miscast in "The Happening." The supporting cast might just as well have been extras picked up on the studio lot.
If you've seen the trailers for this, don't waste your time and money going to the theater.