Ignore The Nay-Sayers, This Is A Brilliant And Important Film

Rating: 10/10 (6 August 2004)

I have no idea why so many people seem to dislike this film, but I assure you that they don't know what the *)&@# they're talking about. This is a truly incredible film that continues M. Night Shyamalan's reputation of genius, and I certainly would recommend you all at least see it before you judge it. I think maybe a lot of people came into it with the wrong idea about what it was, and that's why they were disappointed. This is not supposed to be a horror movie or a monster movie, or at least not in the traditional sense. Aside from about 3 points in the film, the director is not intending for people to jump out of their seats in fright. So if that's what you want, then don't see it.
What this movie is, and what it's supposed to be, is a creepy, unsettling, and darkly humorous commentary on humanity, society, and the modern world. And although it may or may not be ripped off from a book (the author of a book with a similar story is apparently suing), it's certainly a unique and extremely thought-provoking cinematic experience. It's really hard to explain without giving away anything, but you'll likely be debating for quite some time over whether the village elders were right to create what they created and do what they did to preserve it, and whether their methods are used by real-life governments. And it's hard to really explain how this fits in, but it will also spawn debates about whether constantly hearing about horrible things in the news has a negative effect on society.
Anyway, in addition to touching on a lot of fascinating subject matter, the film is also visually beautiful, with incredible use of color, and the two main characters are interesting, likable, and memorable. In the middle of the film the director actually switches the focus of the film from the seemingly central character to another character, which I think is a really fascinating and ballsy move from a story-telling perspective. Some people of course didn't like it, but I loved it. It reminded me of when Hitchcock killed off the main character in "Psycho". I love it when directors throw the traditional Hollywood moviemaking formula out the window like that.
In any case, most of the negative things said about this film are pretty ridiculous. The movie is certainly not predictable, and it's certainly not "slow-moving and dull". The dialogue is occasionally cheesy, and some of the camera shots are annoying, but other than that the movie continues M. Night Shyamalan's tradition of near-flawlessness. As for the ending, I found it to be both greatly satisfying and greatly amusing : )
Anyway, it really disgusts me that so many people have been saying negative things about this movie, because I really think that it's an incredible film. It may in fact be my favorite Shyamalan film, although it's very close between this and "Unbreakable" (I tend to think "The Sixth Sense" is slightly overrated). Please go see this if it sounds at all interesting to you, particularly if you appreciate art more than horror, because I think there's a very good chance that you'll greatly enjoy it. It's kind of a love-it-or-hate-it thing I guess, so I supposed there's a 50% chance you'll love it : ) Anyway, I give it a 10/10.
And by the way, M. Night Shyamalan is only my 5th favorite director (my fav is Zhang Yimou), so don't dismiss this as the word of just some crazed Shyamalan fan : )