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Signs (Vista Series) Customer Reviews (106 - 108 of 120 Reviews)

Rectum
Uh... so let me get this straight. Aliens are attacking the entire planet, kidnapping people and everything and you're not going to explain why because you think we want to watch Mel Gibson struggling with religion. Dude, I don't know where you're from but that is a crappy movie idea in America. Judging from your name you ain't from here and it shows. Seriously, man, make a movie that has some kind of story or shows me crap that I care about. Don't make aliens take over the world and then not explain why. And I don't care if you have some bigger message. Your message sucks. Get a real job.

Signs points to instant success
Of course the big question on everyones minds is, "Does Signs live up to all the pre-release hype it's gotten?" After seeing Signs with my kids, I happy to say, "Yes, it does."

The story revolves around a man (Mel Gibson), his brother (Joaquin Phoenix) and Mel's two children. The mother is out of the picture because she was killed in a terrible accident six months prior. And Mel (who's character is/was an episcopalean Father) has lost his faith in God. Suddenly, strange circular patterns show up in their corn fields, and in corn fields around the world. We never really leave the small farm where Mel and his family live, seeing only TV shots of what is happening to the outside world. Lights are seen over Mexico and other nations. Unexplainable and freaky. An alien is captured on film and broadcast across the nation. Mel's dogs begin acting aggressive and strange footsteps scamper across his roof. They seal themselves into the house, nailing all the windows and doors shut. Waiting for the end. The end of everything.

The serious sideline to the movie (the death of Mel Gibson's character's wife) is vital to our understanding of the human condition. Joaquin Phoenix delivers a stunning performance as a washed-up baseball player who returns home to help his brother run the farm after the death of Mel's wife.

To call this film Science Fiction is almost a crime. There are no ray guns, or high tech scenes involving space flight or mind control. I'd list it more as a dramatic thriller than anything else. But a darn good one.

So how does a man get his faith back? Can some of these characters tell the future? Is that M. Night Shyamalan acting in the film? How vital was the little girl's saying, "There's a monster outside my room, can I have a drink of water."?

Watch and hold onto your seats. It's funny, tearful, scarey and dramatic, all at the same time. The best film of the year so far.

Much to Enjoy, But Just Short Of The Mark
In a documentary that accompanies the film on DVD, M. Night Shyamalan admits that SIGNS was greatly influenced by such films as NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD and Hitchcock's THE BIRDS--an admission that will come as no surprise to any one who has seen SIGNS in the wake of those films. Although very different, all three have one thing in common: they ultimately focus on a small group of people fighting off an unnatural entity that attempts to invade their very ordinary homes.

The story is an unusual mix of meditative religious and classic sci-fi elements blended together by Shyamalan's remarkable sense of visual style. Mel Gibson is a minister who has lost his faith in the wake of his wife's tragic accidental death and who now rejects the concept of unseen powers entirely--so he is nonplussed when his children discover a crop circle in his own cornfield. He remains skeptical even as television news coverage reports alien crafts hovering over major cities. But his denial is exploded when he and his family have a close encounter of the extremely nasty kind.

The small cast is extremely, extremely good. I generally dislike Mel Gibson as an actor, but he has grown tremendously since his macho-bravado BRAVEHEART days, and while he might seem an unlikely choice for the part of a failed minister he carries it extremely well. Joaquin Phoenix is perfectly cast as Gibson's younger brother, and the children--Rory Culkin and Abigail Breslin--are flawless.

What isn't flawless is the story. The blend of religious and sci-fi motifs is an interesting idea, but director Shyamalan (who also wrote the script) doesn't quite manage to hold them in balance, and ultimately winds up beating you over the head with the film's religious elements while giving the sci-fi elements the short end of the stick. I did appreciate the fact that the film builds suspense more by what it does not show than what it does, and I have no qualm with that--it's a welcome choice after such special effects overkill as INDEPENDENCE DAY and the like--but several of his plot devices smack of stereotype, and the film's conclusion is such a deus ex machina that it is not to be believed. There is indeed a great deal to admire about the film, but when all is said and done it somehow lacks sincerity and falls just short of the mark. Entertaining nonetheless.

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