A worthy sophomore product

Rating: 9/10 (15 July 2006)

The real gem of the movie isn't the heroics or the juxtaposition of past & present; it is the shifting relationships. The hero's relationship with his wife, his son, and with the mysterious Elijah are all very different at the end of the movie than at the beginning. Even his understanding of who he can be shifts dramatically. Sure, Elijah's exposition of the nature of comic book characters is awkward at times, but even that is necessary for audience members not fluent in mythologies ancient or modern. The barbell scene is a scream; the director's appearance as a suspect in the second act rivals Hitchcock's cameos in his own movies. Criticism of this as the unworthy follow-up to THE SIXTH SENSE is unfair.