Starring Mel Gibson playing a widowed father.  This is the story of an alien invasion.  Placed in a time not unlike today.  Mel's character Grahm Hess had been a reverend, after his wife died he lost faith.  He owns a cornfield and lives with his two children a son Morgan who has sever asthma attacks and a younger daughter Bo. played remarkably well by the 6 year old Abigail Breslin) who says every cup of water she drinks is contaminated with amoebas or germs or dust.  He also lives with his younger brother Merril who used to play in minor league baseball who has the record of the farthest hit and also the record of the most strike-outs saying it felt wrong not to swing. 
     One morning Graham was looking for his children in the cornfields they notice an perfectly elaborate crop circle design.  Suddenly this design pops up in fields all over the world at numerous speed.  Everyone is reporting about it on every channel the news is on of the coming 'End of the World'.  The animals start to act strangely, and mysterious winds keep on blowing.  Graham's son detects some sort of language on a baby monitor.  Someone has a locked alien in his pantry.  At night they see flying orange lights hovering in the sky over the cities.  Graham and his younger brother board up all their windows and doors glued to the television.  It's happening Graham says.  They are here, they run down to their pantry, his children are petrified.  Graham believes they will never see another day again.
    M. Night Shyamalan the director has made this picture finely.  He gives enough thrill and humor without using special effects.  The way he directs the children make you think it is actually happening.  It gives an outlook of how people acted during H. G. Wells , The War of the Worlds.  A memorable scene is when Morgan and Bo are convincing their dad that extra terrestrials do exist and they want to invade.  They wear hats pointy at the top made of tin foil so that the aliens can't read their thoughts.  My favorite line from this movie is when Graham asked if he was a believer in signs and miracles or of just plain luck," I could have been kissing her while she was throwing up! I would've never recovered from that'  he said that when he told his brother of when he was at this party and about to kiss this girl but had to spit out his gum and avoided the incident.  he said that moment made him believe in signs.  
     Sad to say this movie was more humorous than thriller.  But it had its parts.  You expect it to be more scary after u see the previews.   But still the movie entertains.

I rate this 4/5 stars it was a good movie./
19/08/02