There isn't enough about Muse on this site. Are there any fellow Muse fans out there? Make yourselve...
There isn't enough about Muse on this site. Are there any fellow Muse fans out there? Make yourselves known...We'll start some sort of club.
Member since:30.05.2001
Reviews:93
Members who trust:113
It’s not as though M Night Shyamalan had an easy job is it? After all, he had set himself the target of two films that, whilst not to everyone’s taste, were still startlingly original and a breath of fresh air to the worn out horror/sci-fi genre. The Sixth Sense is a modern classic and Unbreakable is a flawed, but still fascinating film and miles above most summer blockbusters. Signs is far superior to Unbreakable and only just inferior to The Sixth Sense but in terms of shocks and value for money Signs is the new champion. The Sixth Sense is better crafted but slower and only entertaining the first time. Signs has buckets of absolutely terrifying moments and a few shocks on a par with Alien.
The critical reception of Signs was never going to be positive, especially when everyone is desperate for a bad movie so that they can say that Shyamalan has lost it. Jonathan Ross was predictably full of smug contempt and ridiculed the film without being aware just how hard it is nowadays to make a good Sci-Fi movie. Shyamalan was all too cautious of the pitfalls of alien movies and so it’s a shame that everyone criticises him before they appreciate what a great feat he has accomplished. He manages to twist
the age old genre of aliens-are-taking-over, into a fresh, original and scary thriller and he does it with a minimum of implausibility. Lets just take a minute there to understand that. He managed to make an alien movie that wasn’t cheesy, corny or clichéd and still has a hell of a shock at the end.
It is so easy (and fun) to criticise any alien movie, but could any of us make a film even a fraction as good? Instead of sitting back and scoffing “Huh, that wouldn’t happen” we should appreciate that he approached the impossible task of making a good alien movie and very nearly succeeded. It has its weak points (even Schindlers List has weak points) but what the public don’t realise is that many critics have taken the few failures the movie has and blown them out of proportion.
Not one review I read mentioned just how thrilling it was, how well acted and directed it was and how satisfying a movie experience it was. Just because it wasn’t another Sixth Sense masterpiece, that is no excuse to rubbish the film. You can easily tell which critics watch enough movies to have any idea what they’re talking about from the quotes they give for film posters. Are you going to believe Jonathan Ross, he who claimed that Batman Forever was ‘One of the best films ever made’?
I am (as you know) extremely cynical and manage to dislike films such as The English Patient and Forrest Gump. So Signs must have something going for it otherwise this review would be nothing but one long bitch about all the bits I hated (the shorter my reviews, the less I disliked). Shyamalan’s biggest advantage is that he writes and directs, so that what you see his vision and is untouched by the perils of committee writing. Whether alien films are or aren’t your thing, it is impossible not to appreciate the atmosphere and chilling qualities Signs has.
One reviewer claimed to have been bored, so he must have seen a different movie as the one I saw had me clutching the armrests every five minutes. The directors gift is his unnerving brilliance at knowing exactly what terrifies everyone, so although the shocks aren’t non-stop (which is more numbing than scary) they are perfectly spaced so that you can never relax. The tension is also mercilessly used, so that when you stop jumping in terror you’re squeezing someone’s hand (better go with someone you know so that they won’t sue when you break their fingers). It was the only film I’ve ever been to where all the girls screamed in a number of places.
The plot is simple, concerning a retired priest turned farmer (Mel Gibson) who lives with his brother, a failed baseball player (Joaquin Phoenix) and two children one of which is Rory Culkin. Mel’s wife was killed in a car accident by a local man (played by a surprisingly good Shyamalan) and this caused him to lose his faith. All is normal down on the farm until the dogs start attacking the children and a huge crop circle appears in the corn. Through the use of news bulletins, evidence grows that aliens really are on their way. The family are conflicted at first and then united as things get weirder as only they can in a Shyamalan film. It is hard to say much about the plot without giving away the finale as with all of Shyamalans films, since he always keeps the biggest thrills until last. Gibson is above average whilst Phoenix doesn’t match his Gladiator role, not that it matters. Rory Culkin shows that he is possibly the most talented of the Culkin family and puts his millionaire brother to shame.
Signs isn’t about to rival any classic alien films, but in terms of what it tries to do it is a triumph with just the right amount of thought provoking discussion about aliens and plenty of frights. It has possibly one of the most terrifying moments ever committed to film and anyone who says they weren’t scared during the news flash about the alien sighting is a liar. I was really impressed (and scared) by Signs which only falls down with the ending, but realistically it is done the best it could be done and is necessary for the purposes of the film. Despite its otherworldly subject matter it stays very down to earth which makes it all the more plausible, and the use of news bulletins to advance the plot is both genius and masterfully creepy. If you go into the film prepared to laugh at anything not completely plausible then stay at home, your imagination isn’t big enough. The rest of you who are able to accept the unusual are in for a treat, and if you still don’t enjoy it then blame Jonathan Ross.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Production Year: 2007 - Science Fiction - Director: Francis Lawrence - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Alice Braga, Charlie Tahan, Dash Mihok, Will Smith, Salli Richardson, Willow Smith
Director-writer M Night Shyamalan brings his distinctive, oblique approach to aliens ... more
inSignsafter tackling ghosts (The Sixth Sense) and superheroes (Unbreakable). With Mel Gibson replacing Bruce Willis as the traditional Shyamalan hero--a family man tr...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Director-writer M Night Shyamalan brings his distinctive, oblique approach to aliens ... more
inSignsafter tackling ghosts (The Sixth Sense) and superheroes (Unbreakable). With Mel Gibson replacing Bruce Willis as the traditional Shyamalan hero--a family man tr...
Postage & Packaging: free Super Saver Delivery Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
From M. Night Shyamalan, the writer/director of The Sixth Sense and Unbreakable, comes the ... more
story of the Hess family in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, who wake up one morning to find a 500-foot crop circle in their backyard. Graham Hess (Mel Gibson) and hi...
From M. Night Shyamalan the gifted writer/director of The Sixth Sense and Unbreakable ... more
comes the story of the Hess family in Bucks County Pennsylvania who wake up one morning to find a 500 foot crop circle in their backyard. Graham Hess (Mel Gibson) a...
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: 3-5 working days
Advantages: Very absorbing, suspenseful, Good performances Disadvantages: The ending (somewhat anti-climactic and the visuals of the aliens), a bit too 'Hollywood' perhaps
IzzyS 15.01.2008 (15.01.2008)
·
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Signs (DVD)
Advantages: Makes you think...and keep on thinking for ages afterwards, it has Mr Gibson in it, superb directing Disadvantages: A bit scary to be rated 12 - and all that thinking made my brain hurt
Collingwood21 12.10.2002 (12.10.2002)
·
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Signs (DVD)
![Signs [DTS] [DVD] [2002]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/76771759.jpg "Signs [DTS] [DVD] [2002]")
very helpful by (99%):
helpful by (1%):
