Ouch. 'Lady in the Water' was a dud. And for its ghastliness, filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan took one to the chin. He got back up again, though, to make 'The Happening.'This one's gonna hurt.
2 Comments
06/15/08
The Happening (2008)
18
%
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
61 - 80 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
Someday someone will stop bankrolling Shyamalan's dumb dreams and keep this kind of tripe from happening.
06/15/08
... M. Night desperately needs to find that special someone whose opinion he'll listen to when they say,'No! BAD writer-producer-director! NOT a good idea!'
06/15/08
The film does manage to build some tension, since the survival of the group remains in question right up to the end.
06/15/08
'The Happening' works in early spurts, but apparently Shyamalan ran out of ideas once he came up with his uniquely insidious killer.
06/15/08
Works as an effective and brutally horrifying antithesis to the usual explosive summer fare...
06/15/08
There's never an ounce of suspense, mystery, or surprise.
06/15/08
Another case of elegant filmmaking kneecapped by a thunderingly stupid concept.
06/14/08
Shyamalan's essentially made a sociopathic movie.
06/14/08
'The Happening' may not be M. Night Shyamalan's best movie, but it's his most provocative one.
06/14/08
Lacks scares, wit, humor and acting, and Zooey Deschanel, alas, has lost her cuteness.
06/14/08
It's clear that a once creative director is now running out of fumes, trying extremely hard to find something that hasn't been done before. The result is laughable.
06/14/08
Where the hell is Act III?
06/14/08
While there are certainly ideas behind it, the film lacks the bloated self-importance that plagued the director's last two efforts. This time, Shyamalan seems content merely to entertain us, and that's enough.
06/14/08
The Happening suggests [Shyamalan's] (con) artist's touch is waning a bit.
06/14/08
On a brighter note, the Wayans brothers have new material to make Scary Movie 5.
06/14/08
A creepy cautionary eco-thriller than neither cautions nor thrills. Instead of being full of dread, it's just dreadful.
06/14/08
I'm always amused by the sort of backlashes that Shyamalan is in right now. Well, M. Night Shyamalan makes vague, subtle fantasy thrillers. If you've outgrown it, don't blame him.
06/13/08
M. Night Shyamalan's worst film.
06/13/08
It's an interesting premise for a doomsday thriller, but Shyamalan botches it from the get-go.
06/13/08
Latest 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. 
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