The Happening (2008)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:169
Fresh:31
Rotten:138
Average Rating:4.1/10
Consensus: The Happening begins with promise, but unfortunately descends into an incoherent and unconvincing trifle.
Runtime: 1 hr 31 mins
Genre: Action/Adventure
US Box Office: $64,384,941
Synopsis: M. Night Shyamalan directs this thriller about a science teacher (Mark Wahlberg) who tries to escape with his wife and friend's daughter after an apocalyptic event. THE HAPPENING costars Zooey... [More]
Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Zooey Deschanel, John Leguizamo, Betty Buckley
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Reviews for The Happening
| Tomatometer | Critic | Review | Category |
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 2.5/5 |
There are some creepy moments but overall The Happening is a bit of a non-event. Full Review |
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2/5 |
Another disappointment from M, despite some disturbing violence and chilly moments. Full Review |
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The movie is a bummer, from beginning to end. Full Review |
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 3.5/5 |
A tantalising, sometimes frustrating parable about the menaces that human beings might face from unexpected quarters. Full Review |
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Maybe Shyamalan has been plugged into those other worlds for too long. Judging from what is on offer here, he needs to become more acquainted with the emotional language of this one. Full Review |
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While hardly his worst work, this film is so far off his high water mark that it begs the question of whether M. Night Shyamalan will ever truly return. Full Review |
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Excluding moments of chilling effectiveness, this could fairly be called his worst film. Even his saving grace of keen directorial acumen visibly loses cohesion on screen. Full Review |
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Sadly for Mr. Shyamalan, the ideas that have been coming to him since his brilliant first hit The Sixth Sense are progressively worthy of less merit and more deserving of ridicule. Full Review |
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Shot in the inimitable Shyamalan lugubriousness Full Review |
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3/10 |
Shyamalan sve lo%u0161ije reagira na gubitak statusa holivudskog bo%u017Eanstva Full Review |
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1.5/5 |
Seeing The Happening is like going on an outing with an earnest person, who happens to be a drunk. Every time it starts to make sense, it slurs its speech and starts dropping things -- such as coherence and credibility. Full Review |
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3/10 |
More than anything, what bothers me about it is a sense of cheapness that ... centrally comes from a concept mainly built for shock value. Full Review |
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2.5/4 |
Undoubtedly M. Night Shyamalan's weakest thriller to date... Full Review |
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1.5/5 |
While not as laughable as the narcissistic Lady in the Water ,it fails just as miserably as narrative and even more miserably with its flat characters and tone deaf dialogue. Full Review |
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[A]n astonishment, so idiotic in conception and inept in execution that, after seeing it, one almost wonders whether it was real or imagined. Full Review |
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4/10 |
It's a great idea. A silent, unknown killing machine knocking people off while a science teacher tries to figure out why. But it just didn't work. Full Review |
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2/5 |
Shyamalan's latest is an improvement, but a full-fledged comeback ain't happening. Full Review |
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2/5 |
Shyamalan is a master at a visual iconic moment - but the "filler" (you might have learned about it in English class by this name: "story") gets weaker and weaker every film. Full Review |
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2/4 |
The M. Knight brilliance is there in quick jolts of suspense and terror, but those moments are the exception in this otherwise flat little thriller. Full Review |
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4/10 |
Shyamalan's religious ideas are a lot like Bush's: Nearly theology free. Full Review |
CommentLatest News for The Happening
January 21, 2009:
Razzies Name 2008's Worst Movie Nominees
No awards season would be complete without the Golden Raspberry Awards (AKA The Razzies), awarded each year to the very worst movies to hit Hollywood. This year's winners will... More...
July 06, 2008:
Box Office Guru Wrapup: Hancock shows some attitude at the box office
Despite a critical panning, Hancock scores at the Box Office. More...
June 19, 2008:
Box Office Guru Preview: Get Smart Spies Top Spot
Two big star-driven studio comedies invade North American multiplexes on Friday giving audiences even more choices during what has been a scorching hot June box office. Steve... More...
June 16, 2008:
WNYC RADIO: A numbing polemical morality tale in dreary doomsday thriller clothing, this dull downer for all its mass panic attack high alert mode, may be more effective in unintentionally boring people to death. 
More...
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