Mel Gibson searches for answers in "Signs"

'Mel Gibson stars as Graham Hess, a former reverend whose wife was killed in a grisly car accident six months earlier. After that, he left the ministry and abandoned his faith, vowing never to waste another minute of his life on prayer. The supporting cast includes Joaquin Phoenix, Rory Culkin, Abigail Breslin and Cherry Jones. Everyone put out excellent performances, but I especially enjoyed the character of Graham Hess' brother played by Joaquin Phoenix. This role injected a much needed life into the the movie due to it's overwhelming dark and subdued atmosphere.

The movie opens with the discovery of giant crop circles in Hess' corn field. Immediately we begin to wonder Who made them and Why? Without giving away too much of the film, the search for these answers leads Mel Gibson's character down a path that will change his life dramatically, yet again.

There were a number of scenes that are reminiscent of other films such as Panic Room, The Blair Witch Project and Field of Dreams. The movie is really a story about a man struggling with his faith, neatly packaged around a "War of the Worlds" scenario in what I feel is a gimmick to attract larger crowds to the movie screen. If you think about it, how many people would go see a film simply about a man dealing with his loss of faith? Throw in an alien invasion and now you've a recipe for a very marketable movie!

Overall, it wasn't an awful film but it wasn't M. Night Shyamalan's crowning achievement either. If you need a nearly 2 hour distraction from life and have to satisfy your curiosity about this director's latest motion picture, catch this movie at a matinee showtime. A word of advice, don't spend any time pondering what Shyamalan's trademark surprise-twist ending will be. In his previous films he's ended his stories with revelations that turn the whole movie upside down, that is not the case here.

My Recommendation: If you want to see a truly good movie about hostile extraterrestrials go see 'Alien'. If you want to see a thought provoking story about Good vs. Evil and the plight of a man losing his faith, look no further than 'The Exorcist'.

Pros:
Joaquin Phoenix's performance as Merrill Hess
Abigail Breslin and Rory Culkin's humorous interjections
A handful of truly suspenseful moments

Cons:
Several scenes mimicked other films a bit too closely
Far fetched and abrupt ending
Unsatisfying as either a tale of a man's struggle with faith or alien invasion.