The Village isn't the best movie, but it isn't at all the worst. It was somewhat boring, and disappointing, but something about that movie attracted me to it. The acting is really good. William Hurt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Joaquin Phoenix, and Adrian Brody are really spectacular in their work. James Newton Howard's music is both beautiful and mystifying at the same time. The plot was well written and it did make sense. The only thing that's not so great about this movie is the surprise you get towards the end. All in all The Village is a great movie.

This is a film that will surely polarize audiences. I thought it sent profound messages and was extremely original. Movies that are unique, original, and avoid being artsy and weird are hard to come by these days, but this movie pulls it off. It is a bit slow-moving at times, but all of the dialogue in the film is meaningful and the film carries numerous profound messages. I think most people were disappointed because it was advertised as a thriller/horror movie--that's understandable. I went in to the movie thinking that as well--however, I was not disappointed in the least. In fact, I was pleasantly surprised. The film was not meant to be a thriller and should not have been advertised as such. Perhaps more people would have liked it if they did not go in with such expectations.

Stupidest movie my family has ever seen!!! Luckily we saw it at the dollar theater. We stayed thinking it would get better. Boy were we wrong!!!

Obviously, with this movie you either love it or hate it. I happen to be one of those that LOVED it!!!!! I agree with the comments of all those who also loved the movie. I'm glad that I waited to see it and kept an open mind. It wasn't intended to be a horror flick - but then Unbreakable and Signs weren't horror flicks either. This was right up the same alley as those two movies. GO SEE THE MOVIE and decide for yourself. I plan on buying this one as soon as it comes out on DVD.

This movie started interesting at first.. but the last 1/2 hour of the movie turned it into the... WORST.MOVIE.EVAR..

Dumb-D-Dumb Dumb Dumb. We, like Markus found our selves snickering at how dumb this movie was. Not even a good date movie. I want my money back. Was this meant to be a comedy cuz it sure had us laughing!

I can't understand why reviews have been mixed concerning this movie. Maybe people are expecting to be frightened or are looking for a huge twist in the plot, and they spend their time throughout the movie waiting for these elements instead of enjoying a truly wonderful film. This is without question one of the finest films I've seen in a very long time. The cinematography, the setting, the story, the acting, the music--everything was beautiful. And as a bonus, there was a very interesting plot twist towards the final third of the movie, and for a few minutes here and there, I was definitely thrilled by a few scary scenes. Go and see this movie. Forget about what you've heard or read, clear your mind, and just sit back and enjoy one of the best movies you'll see this year. And for you moms and dads out there, it's a bit too frightening for the kids, but I can't remember one curse word, nor is there any sexuality. It's a very clean movie, and I applaud the makers of this film for making a quality film without all of the crud we see so pervasively in other Hollywood filth. This movie definitely deserves four stars!

I really liked this movie. It was like going back in time, as well as being on different planet. The atmosphere was terific. It got me right out of my world and into a different one. Held my interest all the way through.

M. Night Shyamalan is one of the few writer/directors that can actually pull it off. I am a fan of all his movies but this is by far my favorite. The performances of William Hurt and Bryce Dallas Howard are amazing. Joaquin Phoenix and Adrian Brody are very good as well. James Newton Howard delivers a thrilling musical score. A must see for all, highly recommended.

I Absolutely LOVED this movie!!!!!! It was very, very well done! The acting was very, very well done too. Especially Bryce Dallas Howard, she stole the show!!!! It was one of the best movies I've seen all summer!!! I DEFINATELY recommend it!!!!!

M. Night Shyamalan's movie The Village is a beautiful tale. It is an amazing story with wonderful acting and beautiful music and directing. I comment M. Night for keeping his movies clean and original. The people who are bashing this movie didn't pay attention. This movie was not intended to be a horror movie, it was intended to be a love story with a little suspense. If you are a fan of M. Night, you would have known that. He makes beautiful films that have profound statments and wonderful morals. I wish Mr. Shyamalan the best in his filmaking and I hope that The Village will do well at the box office. Please see this movie with an open mind, and don't expect a shoot 'em up bloody horror flick. This movie is a masterpiece. Thank you so much, Night. Your work is thrilling.

Great film, I really enjoyed it a lot, but I think I would have liked it better if I hadn't read Jeff Vice's review that states that the film is about a family that lives "a 19th century lifestyle." If it had said "it's about a family that lives in the 19th century" then that would have been different, i.e. Jeff Vice gave away the film in the review.

I wasnt even a good love story if that was what it was. I like dramatic films and even the hint of a good love story. I didnt find either one. Sorry folks, I have to agree with so many of the other critics out there. I didnt like it at all. I gave it 1 star because I agree with Markus. I liked the music. Oh, and by the way, I had the the story figured out around halfway as well. It was just too predictable. One more thought. Why were they all speaking "old english" in the 21st century? Who taught "the elders" to speak that way and why would you want to?

Huge Flop. We almost left it was so dumb. And yes, this was meant to be a suspence, not a drama or love story for those of you who said it wasnt. No one said it was a "slasher" movie. But it was meant to be thrilling, NOT.... Dont waste your hard earned money on this one people. I cant say it enough Dumb Dumb DUMB!

I was going to write a detailed review of this film, but I first read Mark's comments on The Village that he posted on 8/05/2004. His review reflects my feelings that The Village is a superb movie. It's clean, interesting, thought-provoking, beautiful, contains a wonderful love story, is enhanced by a truly inspired musical score, and is definitely worth seeing. It's the finest movie I've seen in awhile. Go see it. Four Stars!

Come on you knuckleheads. Of course you're going to be disappointed if you were expecting something along the lines of The Exorcist or some slasher type movie. This movie is what it is........a very, very unique and thought provoking film with a few suspenseful moments and pretty good acting. I don't think it ever purported to be a movie that would scare you silly....those were people's self- imposed expectations. Overall, it was good. I will say, I'm no fan of the weird, often times ununderstandable dialogue that M. Night is so fond of in his movies. I wish he'd tone that down sometimes.

I did love Adrien Brody in this movie. I also loved the score. I just did not like this movie for its predictable and unintelligent script. Yes, it WAS predictable. The movie started out with such promising characters that were mysterious and interesting. And then what did Shyamalan do? He made them become too unbelievable to care about. There were too many unexplored ideas in the movie (that could have been great had they been explored) that were just cut off by the lame "twist-ending". I like Shyamalan as a director, but I cannot support his self-absorbed attempt to entertain me with ridiculous plots and "that's it??!!!!" sentiment that prevails in his writing.

So far, M. Night Shyamalan is batting 1.000 with Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, Signs, and now The Village. Unfortunately for Shyamalan, his first film was almost too good for his own good. Everyone insists on comparing his subsequent films to Sixth Sense. To do so, is to be disappointed. Each film can be appreciated on its own merits. For example, The Village has a compelling love story, wonderful musical score, superb acting, and interesting use of color. Of course, The Village also has the standard issue Shyamalan traits such as suspense (though to a lesser extent in this film), surprise plot twists, clean content, and a Shyamalan cameo. Shyamalan is a very detail oriented writer and director. If you don't believe me, rent the Unbreakable DVD and watch the deleted scenes section of the bonus features. Shyamalan explains why certain scenes had to be deleted because they gave the audience too much information about what would happen later in the film. When I watched The Village the second time, I noticed how Shyamalan carefully gives you information about key characters and events little by little. Some people say they figured out the plot surprise very early in the film. I really don't see how that is possible unless they read an Internet spoiler or perhaps read the book that Shyamalan may have based his screenplay on. My suggestion would be to watch this movie without the idea of seeing how it compares to Sixth Sense. If you are looking for a horror film, look elsewhere. If you are looking for a clean, interesting, carefully crafted story, look here.

After all the hype created by ?thrilling and scary? commercials, my level of anticipation was quite high to say the least. When my friends and I arrived at the theater we found the first two show times sold out. Needless to say we were even more excited thinking, wow, this must be a great movie. So we purchased tickets for the late show and went in with much haste and great expectations. I must admit the first 30-45 minutes of the film was very well done. The music was beautiful and worked well with the film. As the story line developed and progressed and you couldn?t help but get excited for what was surely to come?it never did. It?s almost as if the script had two different writers. After a few (and I mean ?a few?) brief and thrilling moments, the story failed to keep your attention. Infact I found myself getting board real quick. The dialog became corny and dull (similar to ?Gods and Generals?). According to Mr. Vice, this was supposed to be something along the lines of ?the sixth sense?. Trust Me!!! This is no ?Sixth sense?. Not even close. This movie never got scary, only dumb and dull. We actually found our selves laughing at parts (among others in the theater) because it was sooo corny. Don?t waste your time or money. I gave it 1 star because the sound track was good. What a let down.

I loved this movie. It was both a beautiful period piece and a suspenseful, jump out of your seat, movie. I'm just a little upset that Jeff Vice's review gives away the major plot twist and hints very broadly at two more.

This movie methodically builds and builds.... to nothing. The writers have successfully planned a major construction of I-15 proportions -- for a house of cards.

It gets two stars for a somewhat interesting ride, but there is NO payoff. The big "Secret" no one will talk about becames dreadfully obvious about half-way through the movie. Then it is played as a huge "surprise".

Even if it remained a surprise, the significance of the revelation is "so what?". I was expecting a very significant outcome from the trip to the village. Instead, little yellow riding hood stands by the roadside nearby.

Two stars for interesting characters and mildly amusing moments, but there's no way I'd waste my time on this tripe again.

I must say, I was so excited for this film to come out. I left the theatre with mixed emotions though. The essential building blocks of a good movie were all there, but not for a movie that was meant to scare you. I loved the camera work and the script by Mr. Shyamalan, he has put together a beautifully original piece that leaves all audience members thinking. The acting was also superb, of course the best performance would have to go to the newcomer, the lovely Ms. Howard. The plot twist was actually quite brilliant, but it was flawed in that it decreased the fear for the audience, whereas the twist in the sixth sense greatly increased the fear factor. And after much deliberation on the subjuect that seems to be my only criticizm, I loved the film as a whole, but I wasn't scared when I left the theatre.

I understand Shyamalan is considering entering other genres for his future film projects. I believe that the time has come to move on. Nice try M. Night but no cigar for this one. I give it one star out of respect for the director's past work so be warned that this is a very marginal 1 star rating. See Roger Ebert's review who says it all so much better than I can. Great skill at film making and establishing mood is lost in an unoriginal story that tries really hard but cannot hold tension for its 90 minute plus length. This set-up might have worked for a tight 30 minute episode of the "Twilight Zone" (in fact Rod Serling already worked this premise with some variations in more than one of this classic episodes) but here it wears thin quickly. People will either love it or hate it. I don't particulalry hate it but was incredibly underwhelmed. Enough said.