somewhat entertaining but lacks substance

Rating: 6/10 (24 August 1999)

I saw this movie in the theater to avoid hearing the "secret" ending and it looked intriguing in the trailer(commercial). The movie was disappointing, however, in that there really isn't much of a plot overall. The trailer already provides the premise (a boy who sees and communicates with the dead) but a good third to half of the movie passes before this is finally acknowledged, leaving the viewer twiddling his thumbs waiting for the story to really start. Once it does it proceeds at a slow pace with very little story development (what little there was, however, was interesting). The acting was very good, especially that of the boy (Haley Joel Osment). Had I a second chance, I would wait to see it on video.