good movie

Rating: 8/10 (6 August 2004)

******************* SPOILERS HEREIN *****************
I saw this movie with pretty low expectations. I was, once again,
pleasantly surprised. In other reviews, I constantly saw
complaints about the story being weak. i disagree. I found the
story to be genuinely scary and extremely thought-provoking. One
question that I found Shymalan asking us is if it is right to try to live
in an utopian world by means of fear and bribery. I also saw
complaints about the monsters looking cheap. Although I did not
find the monster to be thoroughly convincing, it worked. Besides,
the costume was made by humans who, most likely, had no skill
in creating bone-chilling monsters. I had issues with the "twist
ending" since I was expecting something scary instead of
revealing. I also had a hard time accepting that the founders of the
village would make a decision to start again so drastically. But
then again, I've never been in the type of situation. Unlike most
people, I had no trouble understanding and accepting the
dialogue. I give the story 7.5/10
The acting is what makes the film so good. Joaquin Phoenix, who
plays the most important character (since he is our hero and is
first billed), dishes out his usually excellent performance. I
wouldn't say he was better than he was in Signs, but he was better
than he was in Gladiator. Adrien Brody, with a complex role, is
also excellent. William Hurt deals with the most dialogue in the
film and talks as if he were meant to talk this way. Sigourney
Weaver was also good, even though I had a tough time accepting
her as a character other than Ripley. I also had a tough time
accepting Brendan Gleeson as an American character, but he
gave a fine performance nonetheless. And Judy Greer, as one of
the Walker daughters, is very good and was, thankfully, able to
show off her acting skills by being something other than comic
relief. Last, but most definitely not least, is Bryce Howard. As the
main character, she carries the tremendous weight of the movie
almost with ease. Hers is one of the best performances I've ever
seen. None of her lines sound wooden or forced and all of her
movements (which are very important since she plays a blind
woman) are convincing and appear 100% genuine. As you can
guess, I give the acting 10/10.
Overall: 9/10