Review of signs (2014) by Cheyne L — 29 Apr 2012

There's no denying Shyamalan's skill at suspense building and creepy atmospherics, and this film is one of his best, but simply because of the endearing family dynamics, almost every other aspect of this film is severely flawed .

. there's just enough backstory to create well-rounded characters and to also set up the character's motivations .. but the whole film is quite half-baked, and I just can't shake the lazy thought behind the twist, and just how asinine the ending is because of it .

. (spoiler alert) the aliens are thwarted by water, it turns out they have a severe allergy .. I mean, not only is there a significant amount of water in our atmosphere, but didn't they notice upon their final approach, even simply by visua, that the entire planet is covered in water? you would think that since they have the tech to get here ,they can probably deduce that this planet could support life, I mean, that's why they came right? that right there is proof they can deduce the planet's composition.

maybe they didn't know they were allergic, because were they come from, there is no water? I don't really want to make excuses for Shyamalan, because it's just bad science .. since life on earth needs water to survive, and the entire universe is made of the same stuff everywhere, than it probably means that all life is DNA based and needs water to survive.

so it's possible they came all the way here and had no way to get back, but they are supposedly an advanced alien race. this is the downfall of this film .. also, the whole faith aspect of Gibson's character and really surrounding the entire film feels oddly forced, as if Shyamalan can't shake the fact that what people declare as miracles are still indeed coincidence .

. it raises a good question about the nature of miracles, and how while one may see something as a miracle, it's really only because of their personal circumstance .. i'm sure the aliens didn't think it very miraculous that they can't live on the planet after all .

. if the aliens had just come for resources, why wouldn't they just take them and leave, instead of subjecting themselves to possible death .. if you can shut your brain off, this is a good film, with some good scares and appropriate cinematography, but otherwise, quite dumb .

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