Nerds That Geek Movie Review: ‘Signs’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

There comes a point where every writer out there, reaches a crossroads in their career. Where they aren’t quite sure if the current path their career has taken, is the right one when all is said and done. It’s a quandary some of the greats of our time have faced. For George Romero and Stephen King both had concerns about potentially being pigeonholed in the genres that they excelled within and that motivated them to both branch out and try new things before coming to realize that horror was their jam and they were excellent in creating it, when they gave it their all, and the world is thankful that they came to realize that particular fact.
 
But when some writers are pressed with this conundrum, panic can in fact ensue. Because the thought of being away from what makes them great or what brought them notoriety is a terrifying prospect, one that might alter the course of their career in negative light. But the irony of that thought process, is that often times, sticking with what works can add greater expectations, or put undue pressure on the writer that they’re not aware of, which prompts them to make some dubious storytelling choices. And one has to wonder, if that particular line of thinking is what led M. Night Shyamalan down an unfortunate path after his first two big hits. Because while The Sixth Sense and Unbreakable were regarded as masterpieces in their own right, his next entry has not held up as well over time.
 
Which is due in large part to the fact that Signs has some serious plot holes built into its framework, the kind that are glaring when watched multiple times. But before we dive too deeply into said flaws, we do need to take a moment today and celebrate some of the successes present in this film. Because this is a motion picture that oddly enough, has some wonderful elements in it as well, such as its cast. Because Mel Gibson and Joaquin Phoenix are electric in this film and their portrayal of two broken men looking for some kind of meaning in this world adds gravity to the story since disaster helps them heal when they realize what they have in the moment matters more, which leads to the best part of this movie; it’s exploration in regard to loss and grief and faith.

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​Something that is handled primarily by Gibson’s character, Graham Hess. For Graham is a former minister who came to believe that there is no God after seeing his wife die before his eyes in terrible fashion and well, what his character transforms into following this tragedy is what makes his journey so fascinating. Because in essence, Graham is going through the motions, getting by and biding his time in safety so he no longer has to deal with tragedy and pain. But disaster comes calling, and it forces him to live again and watching him grow before our eyes and seeing him take risks to keep his family safe is powerful for certain and the message about living life is clear as day in this particular tale and it is a shame that Shyamalan didn’t focus more on this.
 
Because the Sci-Fi and Horror elements present here oddly do the film a disservice, despite the fact that the jump scares and the eerie atmosphere are indeed effective. But a true character study on faith seems shoehorned in as the story rolls along since the aliens take the center stage and well, it’s the grand finale of this film that truly stands out as its greatest mistake. Because the alien invasion being stopped by divine intervention simply doesn’t jibe in the slightest and it really does play out in awkward fashion in retrospect and to make matters worse, these aliens have to be the dumbest/smartest creatures in the galaxy. After all, how in the heavens could a spacefaring species that figured out faster-than-light travel and cloaking technology, not bother to check as to whether or not the liquid that covers 71% of this planet is toxic to them?
 
In the end, all of these poor storytelling choices simply ruin what could have been a powerful story, one that could have bookended the concepts present in The Sixth Sense. But truly, it seems as though the pressure was getting to M. Night, and he seemed to believe that he had to deliver a big ending that dropped jaws and well, he rushed this one and the end result is an inconsistent story that features some laughable moments. And to complicate matters further, this wouldn’t be the last time that M. Night would do an odd job of combining an outlandish twist ending with a powerful story. For his next project would follow a similar blueprint and the fallout from The Village brought about all kinds of questions about M. Night’s skills as a writer and whether or not he would maintain a successful career in Hollywood.

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