If you didn\'t see the word SPOILER a dozen time above, then look again...
[sp]I can appreciate this film on a very low level, and I really enjoyed the scary and shocking parts, just as everyone else did. I liked the night scenes of Gibson walking though the misty cornfield. The first reveal of an alien on top of the barn seen through a window is really stunning.
Beyond that, I was somewhat disappointed. I always expect Shyamalan\'s films to be more meaningful than they are. I wanted Unbreakable to present new ideas about the universe and our role in it, but really it was just a superhero origin story. Likewise, I wanted Signs to explore a new angle of the crop circles mysteries, but really it was just another "aliens invade the earth" story like any 50\'s movie or pulp novel. The most meaningful part of it is the exploration of the family and how they cope with loss, but even that is paced much too slowly and too heavy handed.
It\'s like two unconnected movies welded together. One is the story about losing a wife/mother in an automobile accident, and qustioning your belief in god. The other story is a recycled 50\'s alien invasion movie, little better than "Independence Day." They should have remained two separate movies, or Shyamalan should have made the alien story smarter and less stereotypical. He could have depicted the aliens as vaguely threatening in a mysterious way, without making them seem so openly hostile. That\'s what Philippe Mora does in "Communion." The aliens are depicted as seemingly threatingly, but mostly because we can\'t understand what they want. Communion is my benchmark for "smart but scary" aliens.[/sp]
