Over the last few years, M. Night Shyamalan has gone from innovative filmmaker to overpriced bomb detonator. Peaking in 1999 with The Sixth Sense, anyone and everybody wanted to be part of Shyamalan's create plots and left-field twists. However, the greatness that was The Sixth Sense was short lived as Shyamalan presented back to back disasters with 2004's The Village and 2006's Lady in the Water. But never to fear, the modern master of trickery is back at it again, this time bringing Mark Wahlberg along for a confusing tale of adaption and numbers called The Happening.
Taking place across the Mideast, The Happening follows a group of people as they work to outrun and outwit an unknown airborne virus. Blocking transmitters that keep humans from harming themselves, the virus is a confusing as it is deadly. Is it an act of terrorism or a simply work of nature? Or could it be a karma effect to the way that we have treated our world? Regardless, everyone is thrown for a loop as they must work to make it to safe ground before the virus invades their home.
Tackling the difficult challenge of bringing a Shyamalan character to life is Academy Award nominee Mark Wahlberg. Tapped as one of the fastest rising stars, Wahlberg worked to show his versatility and ability to carry a film with his take on science teacher Elliot Moore - unfortunately, he failed miserably.
Breaking out in 2006 with his role opposite Jack Nicholson and Matt Damon in The Departed, Wahlberg had little to prove and a lot to lose by taking on this role. And though I think that he did a decent job with the dialogue and character that he was given, Wahlberg was unable to really capitalize on the opportunity and become the shining star that he deserves. In short, his timing and delivery were way off, causing the film to hit roadblock after roadblock and never really build a comfortable pace. Because of this the film dragged miserable, ultimately revealing Wahlberg's weakness and inability to shine in any role.
However, Wahlberg looked like a true star next to the disaster that is Zooey Deschanel. Tapped to play an emotionally hidden wife, Deschanel gives a classic Razzie performance as the quiet and awkward Alma Moore. Her delivery and facial expressions were just terrible and played a key part in preventing any chemistry to form between the film's two leads. Combine that with her astonishing ability to overact yet underperform, and Deschanel gives a performance that is so bad that it actually warrant a watch.
As the movie progressed, I quickly began to realize that it wasn't the acting or the characters that really made an M. Night Shyamalan film. Instead, it is the twist and abnormal story - sadly, neither were strong in Shyamalan's effort to stake a comeback, making me think that the director may be out of ideas for his once ingenious films.
For starters, The Happening was expected to be weird. Hell it's an M. Night Shyamalan film. But when the movie reached its final credits and contained no twist or unexpected reason why, I couldn't help but wonder if the man who was known for breaking all the rules had sold out.
Why was the film so safe and why did it stay within the tiny box that Hollywood feels comfortable within? Why were there no strong characters, no interesting story and most importantly, no reason to divulge and discuss the ending?
The film was plain, bland and on the verge of boring, and will quickly become a lost memory amongst the other summer films, many of which are sure fire blockbusters.
