Disappointing, puzzling and implausible even for Shyamalan's usually sensical world.
Comment
08/05/04
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The Village (2004)
42
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Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:194
Fresh:82
Rotten:112
Average Rating:5.4/10
Consensus: The Village is appropriately creepy, but Shyamalan's signature twist ending disappoints.
Theatrical Release:Jul 30, 2004 Wide
Box Office: $114,170,863
Synopsis: M. Night Shyamalan's THE VILLAGE finds the renowned writer-director crafting a suspenseful story of a small community whose inhabitants are plagued by fear of the unknown forest that surrounds... [More]
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Bryce Dallas Howard, William Hurt, Sigourney Weaver
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
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Reviews for The Village
the big twist at the end doesn't quite sustain the weight of the previous two hours' build-up
08/05/04
Maybe M. Night Shyamalan should forget this whole “plot twist” business altogether . . .
08/05/04
The most beautifully crafted stupid movie I've ever seen, and a pitiable act of self-sabotage. It isn't healthy for a young filmmaker to decide he's become his own genre.
08/05/04
You want to shut down the action and demand an explanation. Where are these people? Why are they behaving this way? What do they know that we don't know?
08/04/04
"The Village" isn't a place for everyone to visit.
08/04/04
Shyamalan extends a decent 30 minute Twilight Zone episode into a two hour endurance test
08/04/04
Unlike his earlier films The Village unravels before your eyes, saving you from feeling you've been made a fool of at a later point, and is thus a great time-saver.
08/04/04
If ever there was a movie designed to convince the audience into thinking it’s wasting its time, The Village is it.
08/04/04
When Night Falls
08/04/04
We are propelled back to the 19th century and meet an interesting cast of characters.
08/03/04
So meaningless and distanced in its details that it hardly stands a chance of wooing even the most willing fellow traveler.
08/03/04
Top CriticProblem is: the tame, third-act plot payoff just isn't worth the build-up and doesn't come as much of a surprise if you listen carefully to the dialogue.
08/03/04
Shyamalan is on the top of his game for the most part, it's just the inane ending that drops the film down into mediocrity.
08/03/04
... Shyamalan’s storytelling is always an attempt to connect with an inner child that wants to believe in a lie both plausible and fantastic. "The Village" is no exception.
08/03/04
While the pictures are pretty and the whole enterprise takes itself ever so seriously, The Village is not nearly as frightening as it thinks it is.
08/03/04
The film is so plodding and the climax so…anti-climactic, that any lessons the audience has learned are forgotten as soon as their eyes start rolling in disbelief.
08/03/04
I must admit that I was always intrigued by this movie and, despite the weakness of the film’s revelation, fascinated by the final destination that Shyamalan had in mind.
08/03/04
[Shyamalan's] most meditative and lovingly rendered offering thus far, if also his least fun.
08/03/04
The Village doesn’t pack quite the punch of The Sixth Sense, but it’s equal to Shyamalan’s last two films.
08/02/04
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