I wanted to like this movie… I really did. On the heels of The Sixth Sense and Unbreakable, M Night looked like he was on his way to being the next big thing.. Then this movie happened. Mel Gibson (pre-meltdown) and Joaquin Phoenix? it really seemed like a good idea. And what the hell.. Crop Circles where all the rage!
Preacher Graham Hess, has lost his faith in God after his wife dies in a brutal car accident. He along with his son and daughter and his brother Merrill moves into a farmhouse. Crop circles begin to appear in their corn fields which Graham dismisses as mischief by punk kids. After hearing strange noises and watching news coverage on crop circles appearing all over the world, the family begins to suspect of alien activities. Now they must stick together and believe, as a family to survive the ordeal and find a way to escape from the clutches of the alien invaders.
OK, this had the potential of being a good film. Here’s what I took issue with.
- This wife’s last words. “Tell Merrill to ‘swing away'”. this is far too specific to the ending of the movie. M Night tries to pass it off as “omg, i cant believe my wife’s last words actually save us in the end”.. but it’s too ridiculous to be believable.
- Aliens, whose #1 weakness is water.. come to a planet COVERED IN WATER!! this stupid, doesn’t make any sense at all.
- The little girl is obsessed with clean water, wont drink it if it’s too old. what, you dont clean your house? why are their full water glasses everywhere??
- Why does the sheriff feel it’s ok to just walk into everyone’s house?
- Why does Shamalamadingdong feel the need to cast himself in this movie and foreshadow key plot points?
So yes, the potential for a good movie was there, but it honestly seems like M Night had good success with 6th Sense and Unbreakable and thought he could do no wrong. I mean really, does he have no one to go to who will tell him it’s a bad idea?
