'Old' is very silly and the prototypical Shyamalan film

You've to hand it to M Night Shyamalan. He's really hung around and maintained a brand despite many box office and critical bombs. I have disliked most of his movies and yet I can't deny the man has skills. And when the material is right -- say Unbreakable or The Sixth Sense -- there's greatness in him.

Old is sort of a maddening movie because it shows flashes of what he can do very well but also includes some of his most obnoxious tendencies. It's based on a graphic novel and I do wonder if it's better, since there are some interesting, compelling ideas under the surface of this movie. But subtlety is not his strong suit.

Right from the jump the movie is presenting you with exposition that screams -- this will pay off later. A precocious kid runs around asking characters what their names are and what their occupations are. And repeatedly throughout the film these same adults announce their character traits and professions too, as if the audience will forget. 

I once heard someone argue that Christopher Nolan makes a stupid person's version of a smart movie but I disagree. I think Nolan's films are pretty damn smart. It's Shyamalan who's aiming for the cheap seats. And as ludicrous as Old frequently is, it's pretty damn entertaining -- and that puts it head and shoulders above dreck like Glass.

Some credit should go to the cast which has to deliver some incredibly laughable, wooden dialogue and really get put through the paces. It's a real ensemble piece, and no one really stands out, but no one shits the bed either like Jaden Smith in After Earth.

And there are some effectively creepy sequences considering that almost all the action takes place on a non-descript sunlit beach. Like a lot of his recent work, this was a relatively low budget affair, so it'll probably make a profit, which might explain why Shyamalan keeps getting opportunities to step up the plate.

And audiences seem to have gotten hipper about consuming his work. You know there's going to be a twist and that it's going to be really insane -- and this one is -- but hopefully you'll be entertained getting there. 

It's a mixed bag. For every genuinely amusing or thrilling moment there's film geek masturbation (one character's dementia leads him to trying to remember the name of The Missouri Breaks) and cheesy racial humor (there's a rapper character named, I'm not kidding, Mid-Sized Sedan), so I was rolling my eyes just as much as I was biting my nails.

But here's the thing -- the movie is audacious. It flirts with being powerful, only to overplay its hand. But I appreciate its originality and its cinematic flair. Shyamalan really knows how to craft a shot and to deliver a solid jolt.

I just wish he had a collaborator who could do a polish on his writing. His ego is clearly enormous (hence his constant wink wink casting of himself) but he's limited and Old might just go down as the prototypical Shyamalan film, for better or worse.