A Really Good Movie, But Would've Been Better If...

Rating: 9/10 (20 March 2013)

Yes, a great movie, as expected. I was quite impressed with the actors; they really did a fine job -- all of them.
I usually try to avoid movies, where one of the lead actors has a kid. If there's a kid in a movie, you can expect this kid to (1) take up more movie time than necessary, (2) be disgustingly obnoxious most of the time, (3) be accompanied by a hysterical, over-protective, and equally annoying and obnoxious parent.
I was pleasantly surprised that none of the above was present in this movie.
It's a genuinely good piece of work, but here's what spoilt it for me:
(1) The ending was a real stinker. I mean, do they think people want an ending like that? It was very, very disappointing, depressing and completely unnecessary. Extremely inconsiderate of them to let us (the viewers) down so bad.
(2) They should have developed the story more. We never really get to learn *anything* about this mist or the nature of experiments that it was a consequence of. Surely, it would've been more interesting if the soldiers, trapped in the supermarket, knew something more about the whole thing -- other than "military experiments must've opened a door to another dimension".
(3) The whole religious lady situation was a tad too unrealistic. It was good in the beginning, but when she demanded they "sacrifice" the soldier, and then - the kid... it started getting ridiculous. I can understand if ONE already demented religious fanatic goes insane and stops making any sense, but the whole group serving this nut and fulfilling her whims?? Sure, they're a bunch of dumb hillbillies, but NO ONE is THAT retarded.
(4) We never really get to see the monsters. We see a tentacle at one point, and some over-sized mosquitoes, but the "main" monsters that are, supposedly, inside the mist, never make an appearance.
(5) The dude - Brent Norton... he was supposed to be arrogant, not dumb as a rock. It was so annoying and unrealistic when he flat out refused to accept common sense. Even though people are offering him to SEE proof for himself, he refuses to listen to anyone. We already have a religious nut that behaves this same exact way, so there was no need to turn THIS guy into a village-idiot-in-denial as well.
Other than that, the movie was very good. I'd definitely watch it again (but, naturally, skip the depressing ending).