So this is the new (released June 2008) M Night Shyamalan flick which comes with the wry tag line, 'We've Sensed It. We've Seen The Signs. Now... It's Happening'.
I really had no expectations from this movie and am not a fanatic of M Nights work but would certainly call myself a fan after enjoying Lady in the Water, Signs and Unbreakable. Happily this turned out to be my favorite of his movies to date (I may be alone in this view after reading a few snooty reviews!).
It didn't hurt that the cast was led by two actors who are really on their game at the moment both in acting and script selection, Mark Wahlberg and Zooey Deschanel (let's be nice and forgive her for being in Failure to Launch!). Wahlberg puts in a great performance as a mild mannered science teacher who finds himself along with his partner, Deschanel, in the midst of a epidemic/virus/end of days type scenario in Philadelphia.
The script was excellent with really natural dialogue delivered in a believable way in an (hopefully) unbelievable situation. The plot does a great job of taking you from a feeling of confusion to some genuinely shocking scenes (the Princeton scene hits you like a truck). There are also touching and humorous turns ('You Deserve This' as a message on a real estate banner as people literally run for their lives ... chuckle chuckle) in the script that work so well between Wahlberg and Deschanel and the various characters that join them on a journey away from a seemingly inescapable fate.
The movie has a great ending which you think you have accepted until in true M Night style he flips it upside down and leaves you echoing the last line of the flick ... 'Mon Dieu'.
Oh and just one more thing, can you believe I forgot to look out for M Night's cameo appearance (he pops up in all his movies somehow)? Did anyone out there see the flick and spot him?
Rating: ****
OK ... found out that M Nights Cameo was the voice of "Joey."
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