Signs Review
Signs Review
Starring: Mel Gibson, Joaquin Phoenix, Sam Mercer
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Year: 2002
All right, so I just finished watching sings again. Before I owned signs, my brother told me how he watched it as a really young kid, and thus the movie scared the shit out of him. I think I had watched it to, but if I did I didn’t remember anything past the beginning. When I got it on DVD, my brother and I set ourselves to watch a scary movie. I try to always set myself up to be scared, by turning out the lights and if possible forcing myself to be scared. I was genially sketched out while watching it then, and I thought it was a great movie. But to be honest, I think no matter what scary movie would have been put in front of me at that time would have done the same. That was about two or three years ago, and since then I think I’ve watched the movie once or twice counting now. (I think I stopped watching it the other time) Before now I heard some reviews of it, and I realize this is a very hit or miss movie. In general it is looked at positively, but not everyone thinks so, but I can see why. I want to get the bad out of the way. First off, this movie’s plot is bullshit. It’s essentially an extra terrestrial movie, but it leaves you with questions and skepticism before picking up. In the end it’s more questions and theories about what’s going on then knowing, and the conflict almost is nothing in the end, and because it makes itself a world wide problem, you would expect world wide reactions, but you don’t. It’s very isolated between the family of four, but they do need the world reactions to add your belief and yet not belief at the same time. Also, numerous scenes and lines in the movie seem very useless, and gives you a what the fuck face a couple times. Also the characters have a certain tone, the tone is emotionless and I think M. Night Shyamalan was just like, "Hey Mel, quit fucking making facial expressions!” As it stands, this tone may or may not work with fans, and may have led to those hard to explain moments. I think it works for the most part, but it got a little annoying at parts. As it stands signs has it’s problems, and if you want to slap it down for each one you can, and then it will look like shit. But I would like to look on the bright side, and these are them. First off, the music is sketchy as hell! Top ten creepy music in movies, this one would make it easily. Second, the camera and production around what’s going on is really well done. Shyamalan may not have written the best movie, but I think he did a good job directing it. If he hadn’t done a good job this would be a total piece of crap for a movie. But in doing this strategy these scenes are long, and even though not a lot is happening it seems to drag on a bit. But besides that the acting is great, and Mel Gibson isn’t the only one doing great. The kids did their job perfectly, and despite me wanting to kick the little boy from time to time, still good acting. Another note I wanted to say Shyamalan really seemed to try to use the tactic less is more. Less acting? It makes more! Less things happening in a scene, it makes more! Less scenery, it makes more! Less makes more! Either way it somehow managed to work despite how easily it could have fallen flat. Also, the movie deals a lot with a religious aspect on weather it’s just you believe in miracles or coincidences. It strives more for miracles and everything happening for a reason, but that’s just for the story, and I’m glad they had me thinking a little while being scared the first time I watched the whole thing. Ultimately signs is a good movie, has problems, but I’m glad to have it in my collection and will be happy to put it in every so often.
Signs gets a 4/5
Spoilers: Okay, let’s say you’re an alien. You can make invisible spaceships, flatten crop field like that, and are in the end a genius. But you have a weakness: water. There’s a planet made mostly of water, and rains often, so you should obviously land on it and start taking its people for harvesting, right? That was one of the stupid things I saw in Signs, and I don’t think Shyamalan even knows how smart or strong his own creations are. They seemed to be geniuses that were hand to hand experts as well until that was screwed up with in the pantry seen. (Not hating on pantry seen though, I jumped every time)
