The Happening (20th Century Fox)
Nothing Much Happening Here
So far this summer the big losers have been Prince Caspian and Speed Racer. Look out now cause here comes another one. Its The Happening, the highly anticipated movie from Sixth Sense director M. Night Shyamalan. The trailers for this film made it look like a creepy suspense thriller, but in truth we just get a talky, murky mess of a movie where nothing really happens.
Mark Wahlberg, one of my favorite actors, plays Elliot Moore. Elliot teaches school in Pennsylvania. After an incident occurs in Central Park in New York his school is called off and he and all the other teachers and students are sent home. He, his wife Alma (Zooey Deschanel), his friend Julien (John Leguizamo), and Juliens daughter Jess (Ashlyn Sanchez) get on a commuter train for the ride to their hometown. Juliens wife is supposed to join them there.
In the middle of nowhere the train stops and all passengers are told to disembark. More incidents have occurred in which groups of people died from some air borne mystery illness. The incidents are quick and they are fatal. Elliot and his group seek refuge and safety, but from what
You never solve the mystery of what is happening in the movie because the parameters keep changing. Can it strike only groups, individuals, mean people, old people, whoever or whatever At the end of the film you are still asking those questions.
Then there are the characters in the film. They all speak like the script was written by a four year old. One man decides to orate about the values of hot dogs. Where did that come from And Elliot always speaks in a golly, gee whiz tone of voice. So does Deschanel. This blame should not fall on the actors but rather on the director and scriptwriter both of whom are Shyamalan.
Only Betty Buckley, who plays a reclusive older woman, seems to have her mind wrapped around her character. She makes her the only creepy part of the film. You never know what she is going to do from one moment to the next.
The film is rated R for profanity and violence.
This film is one of the major disappointments of the year. Shyamalan can do better work as has been shown by some of his previous movies. Wahlberg certainly is a gifted actor and should have been better in this film. There is very little suspense here; no valid mystery, and nothing to get excited about in any way. It is just a long trek into dullness.
There will be other hits and misses as we travel through this entertainment year but The Happening is bound to be one of the biggest blunders we see. Maybe next time, M Night, maybe next time.
I scored The Happening a nothing 3 out of 10.
