La trampa

Even his most vociferous critics concede that M. Night Shyamalan has made some interesting, entertaining films. 'The Sixth Sense' and 'Unbreakable,' his third and fourth features, are generally considered to be his finest, though later works- most notably 'Split'- are also quite enjoyable. However, his filmography is populated more by duds than hits. From 'The Happening' and 'After Earth' to 'Old', Shyamalan has made many convoluted, dull and downright moronic movies, that no-one- not even his mother- could love.

His newest venture, 'Trap', follows Cooper and his daughter Riley, who attend a concert for their favourite musician, pop star Lady Raven. They've been looking forward to it for ages, and are excited as all get out. However, the gig is not what it seems. The whole show is, in fact, an elaborate sting operation, to capture a serial killer known as The Butcher. With the police outside, and The Butcher among the fans, will anyone survive; and with this film, does Shyamalan have a hit on his hands, or yet another dud?

Perhaps unsurprisingly, considering its ludicrous premise, 'Trap' is tatty nonsense, with a predictable narrative so full of plot holes and cliches it makes Shyamalan's egregious 'Old' look like the work of Orson Welles. One would be forgiven for assuming that a four-year-old child wrote the screenplay, so mindlessly ridiculous the film is throughout its interminable 105-minutes. Nothing in it makes sense. From the beginning to the end, it's balderdash of the highest level. Logic has no place in Shyamalan's world. Take the police, for example. Nearly everything they do in their hunt for The Butcher is the opposite of what they should be doing; almost as if the entire force were on the serial killer's side.

Moreover, the characterisation involved is asinine, slim and cliched, especially that involving The Butcher. In addition, characters do not act rationally, nor do they act irrationally in a consistent manner: they are whatever Shyamalan wants them to be in the moment, whether or not it makes sense. What's worse: the film lacks suspense, without any tension or gripping moments- the death knell for a thriller.

Further, the dialogue is laughably stilted, making one wonder if Shyamalan has ever had a conversation with a real person before. It is so utterly unnatural it's genuinely puzzling how anyone who read the script could possibly agree to star in it (unless, of course, you were related to the filmmaker).

However, there are some reasonably bright spots in the teeming pit of underwhelment that 'Trap' is, namely Sayombhu Mukdeeprom's cinematography. His use of close ups and quick pans effectively generates the energy that the narrative sorely lacks, which Herdís Stefánsdóttir's score compounds. However, Saleka Shyamalan's songs for Lady Raven- which are made such a focal point one wonders if her father made the whole film simply to give her a platform to sing and dance- are generic and dull, though she performs them well.

Josh Hartnett stars as Cooper, and his performance is either quite clever, or rather poor, depending on how you look at it. On the one hand, the character he is playing is acting themselves, trying to project the visage of normality, as it were. In the stressful situation Cooper finds himself in, that visage slips and begins to crack, appearing unnatural and forced. Therefore, the fact that Hartnett is over-the-top and slightly off could be a clever approach to the role. On the other hand, maybe that's not the case, and he just misjudged his performance.

Ariel Donoghue stars as Riley, and doesn't get all that much to do, really, bar shouting and screaming for Lady Raven, which she does energetically enough. The aforementioned Saleka Shyamalan stars as Lady Raven, and her father really should have gone in a different direction other than home when casting that particular role- and when getting someone to write the songs too, for that matter.

She brings to mind Sofia Coppola in 'The Godfather Part III.' Directed by her father, Coppola was incredibly wooden, much like Shyamalan in 'Trap.' Although, considering the terrible dialogue; no one could perform admirably in her role. Additionally, Alison Pill and Hayley Mills both have small roles as Rachael, Cooper's wife, and an FBI profiler, respectfully, and anyone could have stepped into their near miniscule parts and been as effective as they.

In short, M. Night Shyamalan's 'Trap' is another in the long line of misfires the director has had over his career. In fact, looking at his filmography, he's had more misses than hits- a lot more. With a senseless narrative, stilted dialogue and slim characterisation, it's not got much to offer. Although the cinematography and score are both good, the songs performed by the Lady Raven character are dull, and the cast do uncommendable work. To put it succinctly and not beat around the bush, 'Trap' is utterly crap.

I feel like the idea of directing a concert and a plot inside a concert took over everything else. It starts off quite well and all props to Josh Hartnett but at the end of it all, it's nothing that stands out, nothing at all. The charm, creativity and the out of the box cocncepts and even the eerie settings of his movies are all but missing in this movie.

If you're a fan of his old work like the Signs, Village, Unbreakable, Sixth Sense or even The Visit and The Happening and are fond of his art then TRAP is a complete pivot from his work.

It was also kind of annoying at how they made the cops and the FBI look and think like 4th graders trying to catch a criminal.

Missed opportunity, for us!

Remember - trailers are a separate work of art. We're being sold something that makes money, not something we'll end up seeing in the movie. Trap is a perfect example of this case. Presented as a suspenseful thriller about a game of cat and mouse, the movie turns out to be a completely featureless attempt to play on the audience's expectations. There is no intrigue, no suspense, for everything is read ahead. You are waiting to be surprised. Waiting, and waiting ... and waiting. Nothing happens. Everyone is moving, song keep coming, and yet ... no impact at all, no stakes, no WOW moments.

You just can't believe how dull the story is, which is holded solely on Josh's charisma. He is an extremely good in this movie, some of the acting choices are brilliant. Without him, it would be impossible to watch this nonsense. In the end, all the action leads nowhere - the finale is devoid of conclusions, twists or drama. There is literally no ending! It's as if the entire hour and a half went nowhere. One of the major disappointments of the year.

I get it. Someone will disagree with my take. But trust me, I wanted to be excited. Was waiting for this movie with some excitement, went to see it Opening Night. Extremely disappointed. Oh, one more thing - STOP portraying special forces like they are some incompetent children with no logic. Sometimes they do make mistakes, but Jesus, they are super dumb in first half of the movie, it's almost pure comedy.

Starts off well, but then it becomes increasingly dull and boring. The dialogue between the father and the daughter is unrealistic almost cringe worthy, the acting is mediocre for majority of the movie (it did seem to get better towards the end). Expected so much more from M Night. I would avoid this one :(. The main character barely has a backstory, the movie would have been so much better if they had explored that aspect of the story a little more. There was one decent twist, but other than that, it was just very dull. You would be better off watching this when it becomes available on streaming platforms.

I thought that the setting of the movie was interesting, and it had some exciting moments. One of the bigger side roles is played by the directors niece I belive. She had so much screen time and those parts were mostly not great. She is a great singer, but the acting needs improvement.

The cast is otherwise great, I just hope other side characters would have gotten more screen time.

Ofcourse the movie included alot of fun and interesting twists, but it leaves you wanting something more.

The movie could have been alot better without a clear try to launch a relatives career. Overall medium interesting watch.