Disappointing, muddy follow-up

Rating: 6/10 (2 January 2001)

Those folks who really liked M. Night Shyamalan's The Sixth Sense (a preposterous, but well-written, bit of Hollywood claptrap) should've been prepared for the inevitable letdown that any follow-up would produce. However, I was surprised at just how bad this movie would be. Let's face it, nobody grows to late middle age (the shaved head isn't fooling anybody, Bruce Willis!) without noticing that they never, ever get hurt, or sick, and they have super strength!! Granted, his character, David Dunn, isn't exactly the brightest bulb on the string, but even a former football player would get a clue eventually. Of course, that's why he gravitated toward security guard work, right? God knows, maybe EVERY lardassed rent-a-cop is blessed with superpowers (one of which, apparently, is total lack of ambition). And what's the deal with Samuel L. Jackson's character? Was it really necessary to dress him in purple metallic Nehru jackets and the most Godawful stupid hairstyle since Jim Carrey in Dumb and Dumber to sell him as a supervillain? Dark, disappointing, and blessed with a dumb and tacked-on "surprise" ending; let's hope that Shyamalan's sophomore slump has passed, and he can salvage a promising career. Enough with the comic books, huh?