Rating of
1/4
About 3 minutes of decent Cinema
Tino - wrote on 06/18/08
M. Night Shyamalan's latest attempt reeks of effort, but it's all put in the wrong place. It seems as though that almost all of his talent was put into use as the producer and getting a terrific cast and crew together, but the script and direction are god awful. The first three minutes or so are the only ones that really show Shyamalan's talent. The opening scene shows a few different cases where people are suddenly seeming inhuman and commit suicide. Scenes like this one are definitely the best in the film. They do bring a genuine sense of grief and fear to the audience.
The rest of the film is all about Wahlberg's travesty of a character progressively discovering what "the happening" actually is. It's plants. By now, it's no secret, but the fact remains, Shyamaln picked plants as villains. That's all anyone has to say. This concept seems like the director/producer/writer, saw a 'go green' commercial, and got an idea for what should've been a terrible B-Movie.
Halfway through the film, the viewer starts to hope for a twist, as is Shyamalan's normal style, but the twist never came. The entire plot is revealed about 40 minutes into the film. And that's if the viewer is trying their best to remain completely oblivious to all of the hints thrown, and just trying to enjoy it as a popcorn flick. It's not even good for that. The acting is decent, but that's due to the actors, not the direction. The script is terrible, and has horrible characters, mainly Wahlberg's lead. Anyone who is a fan of Shyamalan should basically give up on him. His career is nose-diving, and quickly.
