Signs [HD]

Movie Totally Surprised Me
War of the Worlds had great special effects but drove me crazy with bad character development and irritating, disrespectful kids. I can understand why they were like that, but it grated on me throughout the movie.

Signs, on the otherhand, went the opposite way. Very little special effects, but far better character development. You cared about the people so that when they were under threat, you wanted to jump into the movie and protect them. The overall theme of the movie is that there is a reason for everything--even disabilities and tragedy. This is a very difficult concept to portray and I have to hand it to writer/director Shyamalan for giving us something different than the average "scary UFO" action flick. This movie had true substance and ventured into topics and subjects that the typical Hollywood movie lacks.

Worth buying!!! (No spoilers here)
Ok, I've read a few of the negative reviews that people did on this movie so I thought I'd take the time to defend it for all of you who haven't seen the film but are considering buying it.

Signs was not your typical alien invasion movie. There aren't any dazzling special effects. There's no graphic alien attack scenes. There are no images of the usual global chaos that generally accompany an alien invasion. This was no "Independence Day" type movie.

Rather than doing the usual Alien movie, Shyamalan decides to take a different approach. If you've seen The Sixth Sense and Unbreakable, you should already be familiar with his directing style. Rather than making a big movie centered around a big event, he takes things to a more personal level. He takes a character living what appears to be a typical or small life and gives them some extraordinary circumstance to deal with. Its not about everyone else when it comes to his movies. The story is never REALLY about the weird...

Don't read these reviews if you haven't seen the movie
I'm glad I saw this movie at the theatre without anybody revealing the plot and resolution to me beforehand, which is what many inconsiderate reviewers here have chosen to do. Do yourself a favor. See the movie without reading about it or asking other's opinions. Form your own opinion after having seen it and, if you enjoy it, simply recommend it to others without explanation. Obviously, many of the people who panned the movie expected something else. They criticized what they saw as shortcomings when the movie wasn't about the shortcomings, but about something more. Yes, I enjoyed The Sixth Sense and Unbreakable, but my favorite movie of the three is perhaps Signs. There is a character depth that had not been plumbed as deeply as in the previous two. I'll admit, the story was a only a slightly bit contrived (hence the 4.5 stars instead of 5), but suspend your disbelief and the entire story falls into place. And who says it could not have been any other way?

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