After the box office flop Lady in the water (2006) M. Night Shyamalan’s fans were hoping that his next offering would be really ‘happening’. We’ve Sensed It. We’ve Seen The Signs. Now… It’s Happening .Specially, after films like The village (2004) and Lady in the… and now The (not-so) Happening, one can see the same fatigue taking over Shyamalan as seen over Ram Gopal Verma back home.

The auteur known for his films like Signs, The Sixth Sense and Unbreakable fails to achieve his old cinematic charisma. Full of disturbing graphics the film is a rather goofy thriller providing a scientific viewpoint to an apocalyptical story. In one line the movie is all about a family on the run from a natural crisis that presents a large-scale threat to humanity. That ’something in the air’ is turning normal people into self-destructive idiots doesn’t gel well with the people watching it. I would rather not like to comment on individual performances but the plot itself seems to be a comatosing one. Unless the only aim of the viewer is to escape the heat and head for an air-conditioned multiplex, the film doesn’t allure audiences at all, for it falls short on entertainment-value! The box office report confirms this fact, as The Happening happens to grab a mere $30.5 million for its domestic opening. (Compare this to $54.5 million earned by The Incredible Hulk.).

While this mediocre start may still be sustained for coming weeks in the west, I m left wondering how much will the movie rake in overseas collection? At home, it might still be a crowd puller had the director throw in a Rakhi Sawant’s item number for our desi audience loves thrillers that promise to thrill you beyond your intelligence!

Via YourMovieBuddyReviews/ Pluking