MovieChat Forums > The Signal (2014) Discussion > It's moronic, or is that being too kind?

It's moronic, or is that being too kind?

posted 9 years ago by cary_howe
16 replies | jump to latest

Yes I know half the people watching it found it deep and meaningful. Sorry the emperor was prancing buck naked. If you ever expect it to make sense it doesn't. Half the budget goes to the effects shots late in the film. The effects shots as usual are trying to make up for the utter lack of script and direction. It's pretentious crap with no real story. I'd say hiring a real writer and director could have saved it but saved what? There was no germ of an idea to save. It's incoherent drivel. Troll away but just know your emperor is prancing naked while you try desperately to describe the clothes he isn't wearing. There's nothing resembling a story in the whole film. People are too easily impressed by effects and I'm a special effects artist and I've been doing it since 1979! I'll take a well written script over effects any day of the week! I just want my 90 minutes back........

[–] themidgarzolom 9 years ago

Troll away

You're great at taking your own advice, it would seem.

Most negative posts here list actual concerns people had with the plot. This way we can actually debate and explore plot points. This way you can show others certain things that should have been fixed and others can explain to you certain things that you may have misunderstood. You literally just spent the entire post saying that the film is bad, pretentious and has no story, but didn't list any actual concerns. Amidst this sea of hatred, you had the nerve to tell people responding that "they" would be the trolls and felt the need to qualify your opinion (which you vigorously stated as fact) by listing your job and field experience. You are basically acting as a parody of the absolute worst sector of internet message board posters.

[–] 9 years ago

[deleted]

[–] M_Salama 9 years ago

Obviously you are in the wrong here!
There is no "dimension" at all in the story!
It was a constructed environment.. like a fishtank to the abductees, as the fish-tank symbolism clearly says.

It was an actual, physical matrix so to speak..
The Island (scarlett Johansson) had a similar idea.
Dark City
Truman Show
etc..!!

"It's Got Electrolytes!" -Idiocracy

[–] 9 years ago

[deleted]

[–] M_Salama 9 years ago

Ok, now you are just trolling :)
Or too embarrassed to tell yourself that the whole thing went over your head.. so you assume there's no meaning!

"It's Got Electrolytes!" -Idiocracy

[–] 9 years ago

[deleted]

[–] friedenstone-54-207765 9 years ago

What is painfully ironic (and what also seems to be going over your head) is the fact that your persistent labeling of others as "pretentious" simply because they either don't agree w you or they correct your mistakes makes you quite the pretentious fool. As you place yourself atop your highbrow pedestal, you fail to realize that this isn't a matter of ambiguity. You're just plain wrong. You must have pulled your "dimensions" theory straight out of your anus.

[–] friedenstone-54-207765 9 years ago

Also, as it appears the movie (good or bad) was too difficult for you to comprehend, I would suggest reading the synopsis...

[–] 9 years ago

[deleted]

[–] iwantyourjob 9 years ago

I can feel your embarrassment through the screen. Dimensions? Wtf? Lol, just having watched the last few minutes of the film I think what happened was you watched it up until the last few seconds. There's no other way that your assessment could've been reached. The last shots are of him staring out of the ship, and into space. And a view of the ship he's on. The only way you could've gotten it that wrong is if you totally missed that. It's okay to admit when you're wrong, you know? Also, nobody else gave this movie a low rating, because they thought he "ran so fast he broke into another dimension". That's just you. Btw, you keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.

[–] denise1234 9 years ago

themidgarzolom^

Wow! Ouch! 

Touché!

This movie had its faults, but I did enjoy it 

"Much communication in a motion, without conversation or a notion"

[–] Beowulf99 9 years ago

What about us, how do we get the wasted time we spent trying make sense of your post.

Look I honestly don't know if I liked it. It's the first time I think I have ever thought that about a film, but I do know one thing, your way off in your assssment.

[–] goldencut 9 years ago

I'd have to agree. Nice filters and lenses, shaky-cam and Fishburne, dirty fingernails and hip soundtrack but no logic, no decent plot. Forum is full of posts looking for logic and making it up as they go. I think it's just not there. Interstellar-traveling world-simulating aliens playing around with some teens to give them implausibly powerful prosthetic hands and feet? WHY!? Also, what about simple science and logic - having prosthetic "super feet" from about the knees down gives you somehow the ability to move your hips (all 'au naturel') so fast that you tear up asphalt while running? Or having something like prosthetic Popeye's forearms gives you the shoulder strength to create earthquakes? C'mon... The list could go on and on... Kids' flick, at best.

[–] xMCGRUBERx 9 years ago

Sci fi maybe not be uour thing? Inthought it was sweet. The mystery surrounding everything is what perpetuated the movie. This seems to go over peoples heads

[–] lyrebon 9 years ago

Several theories have given logic to these problems, one being a sort of mental trauma happening inside Nic's head as he imagines a better life for himself, one where he plays the hero. Another is a computer simulation where the laws of physics wouldn't strictly apply and can be adjusted to whatever parameter the programmer desires.

It's less "making it up" and actually investigating an interesting film. Usually what a lot of writers do when starting out (this is Eubanks' second film) is to follow their own idea of the movie but keep it to themselves and allow the audience to come up with their own interpretation. It's a good way of testing to see how outside, unbiased perspectives perceive your work. It's as much an experimentation on us, the viewers, as it is on Nic.

[–] Girls_Dont_Poop 9 years ago

I thought the movie sucked but I do not share your hatred for the people who liked it. To each his own.