The Happening (2008) Is it bad???

I can say I told you so.. just too many times, as in I told you the trailer looked stupid, with the worst performance by Wahlberg so far, heck, even worse than 'Waist Deep' (did anyone see that movie) trailer...and according to Rotten Tomatoes, as of Friday, June 13, 2008 being 12:07 PM it has an expected 21%, ROTTEN...

Oh, I told you so...

Three strikes for M. Night! Looks like he'll be in the unemployment line soon. it's too bad because his first few showed promise, but after Signs it all went in the crapper! The thing is, I think he does fine in the directors chair and I enjoy his style, but he obviously needs to stop writing his own script. I think he'd do fine if he'd just put the arrogance down and work with some other talent to make a decent flick. The guys best film to date is Unbreakable and that was how many years ago!? Yeah, I thinks it's time Hollywood kept that boy on a leash.

I'm going to venture and say YES it's bad. It's a Shyamalan film and, while the man is capable of good product, he has a massive ego which continually gets in the way of what he's doing. Tell a simple story without a twist gimmick. That's all I really ask. But no. The twist worked in The Sixth Sense, so he needs to keep going back...and back...and back...and back. The man is a one trick pony which should have been put out of OUR misery a long time ago.

Jason, watch HULK smash HAPPENING

The only movie I liked that he made was Signs. I haven't seen Unbreakable so I can't comment on that. The Village was one of the worst movies I have ever seen. Although this is the only other movie out in theaters right now that I would watch besides the Hulk. I don't give a damn about that CG panda crap.

Not only is bad, it's horrible!
M.Night always comes up with gripping premises. The development of those premises though, is another story.

SPOILERS-SPOILERS-SPOILERS

Like i mentioned above, i liked the idea of the film and i stepped into the theater expecting something better than "lady in the water" or "the village". I Was equally disappointed.

The entire idea behind this film is that nature, and specifically plants, "conspire" in a way and release this chemical substance in the air, causing humans to hurt themselves.
Consider the above as "Nature fights back".

We follow mr. Mark around with his little misses and his friend with his daughter.
Between wasting our time with some idiotic subplot about loyalty and love and very, VERY BAD ACTING, they feed us with exposition (more specifically wahlberg) about what's going on since (Yeah, you guessed it just by watching that promising trailer)he is a science professor.
When his stuff is not enough, we are fed with TV screens and talking heads giving speculation on what the "happening is". And eventually, we are left to believe that some things cannot be explained. (The movie also starts on a similar note)

Looking for the m.night Twist (tm) ? Look elsewhere, there are no twists here unless you're talking about your gut, because the ending is disgusting.

On a better note, there are some nice shots. But that's pretty much it.

let's just say that "The Happening" didn't happen for me.

Over and out!

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[Post edited by S_Coaster on Jun 13, 2008 - CDT 8:00 PM]

SPOILERS - SPOILERS - SPOILERS

Well, after being suckered in by the previews and my daughter nagging me to see it, we went this afternoon. Horrible? No. Bad? Sort of. Weak? Very weak! Out of all the M. Night films I've seen, this one felt more low budget than anything he's done. Even the presentation didn't appear as widescreen as you might expect. Seriously, it looked like a standard television ratio on the big screen. Not to mention, it didn't even feel like the standard film style we get with M. Night movies. No slow moving, long camera angles or captivating emotion Night is usually good at presenting and it totally made it feel like there was something missing.

One of the biggest weaknesses is the overall lack of character development. I mean, right from the first minute we are drawn into the event and only get to know our characters through the trauma that unfolds. Therefore, there's never a sense of attachment leaving no one to care about and easily forgotten. Plus, I found it extremely weak that instead of a true sense and mood of suspense, M. Night actually went for more gore than I've seen in his previous films. At times it reminded me of an awful Stephen King film, Maximum Overdrive, but I can't say if it was equally as bad, but it was bad enough.

The plot would probably put a smile on Al Gore's face, but if we're going to be scared over something environmental, I'd say Al did a better job of that with his documentary. I mean, plant life that was able to pass "something" in the air that caused people to kill themselves in brutal fashion was too damn silly even for standard horror. I just wasn't buying it as I kept thinking, why not put on a gas mask or a 3M air-filter mask. Then again, this is a prime example of why M. Night needs to stop writing his own material because they guy never seems to cover all his bases. Even one bad scene where two kids are shot by paranoid people locked up in their home was such bad writing. I was sitting there the whole time thinking, these people are freaked it's probably the end of the world living in their home out in the country, do you think they're not going to have a gun of some type? Like I said, bad writing no matter how you look at it. And if you're expecting the M. Night trademark surprise ending, don't get your hopes up. In fact, and if you follow along, what's happening in "The Happening" is revealed at least 30-minutes into the film. Therefore, no big surprises or hyped up ending to speak of.

Nevertheless, the movie is not as painful as some have made it out to be. It does have some moments that are a bit chilling, but at the expense of cop-out gore. There are even a few moments of humor, but at the expense of Night forgetting to get us involved or connected with the main characters from the start. A little humor is not going to make up for the fact that I really have no care for the main characters, but at least it's there to break what dull tension existed.

Overall, it's just not a well written script and not very well thought out. M. Night again leaves many things unanswered for, and even when he attempts to give us answers, they just come across too obtuse. I like the style in which he directs and especially in his earlier works, but the guy needs to put the pen down and let better talent take that responsibility. I think he had something underlying here with "The Happening" and that would be a good movie waiting to come out, but the problem is he wrote it. Nevertheless, it's a quick 90-minutes, so no harm done but you may want to wait for rental or the dollar theatre on this one. However, put this movie up against a film like "30 Days of Night" and we're talking masterpiece in comparison.

5/10

I agree with Tim completely.

The guy can definitely set a mood and is more than capable of directing, he just needs to stop doing movies he's written.

Why does this guy have so much power in the industry?

because he has a powerfull name. lol

Quote:
The guy can definitely set a mood and is more than capable of directing, he just needs to stop doing movies he's written.

Exactly!

I think Night paces scenes well, and generally gets good performances. His films a universal sense of portentousness that grows tiresome, but he still has some directing skills.

But he can't write. At least not anymore. The problem is he appears to think of himself as a writer first, and director second. And he also seems to think he's a hell of a writer, so he's probably not going to stop anytime soon... unless the studios stop giving him money. But it looks the public's still suckling at Night's teat - $13 M on Friday. So he'll keep on rolling.

Well, "The Sixth Sense" is what put him on the map, and then "Unbreakable" was even better. I liked "Signs" but I still didn't think it was as good as those two, as the twist-style ending was almost too perfect. It just felt like a setup.

"The Village" stunk, and although I haven't seen "Lady in the Water," I heard that stinks too. Maybe he has lost his edge, who knows?

But I can tell you this, while the acting in "The Happening" might be bad, it most certainly can't be as horrible as the overacting in "Brothers Grimm" or "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?" Those were the only two movies I had to turn off roughly 10-15 minutes in because they were so disgusting. So, say what you will about "30 Days of Night," but at least I managed to sit through that one and it did have some great cinematography at least.

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[Post edited by hoodaguy on Jun 14, 2008 - CDT 1:24 PM]