The film has attracted retrospective reviews. Emily VanDerWerff of "Vox" said, "film may be best film, and one of the most interesting looks at the American film industry's early attempts to incorporate the Iraq War into fictional contexts. It's been unjustly derided, and now is as good a time as any to change that." She went on to praise the twist ending, the possible connections between the plot and the Iraq War, and the technical aspects, including the cinematography. Adam Chitwood of "Collider" praised the ending, the performances of Howard, Phoenix, and Hurt, and the cinematography. He also went on to say, "[The film shines when it digs into themes of humanity's relationship with sorrow, and whether pain and violence can be excised from our lives or if we're destined to fall prey to harmful sins. Devoid of expectations, film holds up far better than you may remember." Chris Evangelista of "SlashFilm" called it, "one of Shyamalan's most interesting films, and perhaps one of his best. A melancholy meditation on grief and fear, it radiates sorrow in ways his other films do not. Yes, it does have that expected Shyamalan twist – two of them, in fact. But the film is more than its twists, and deserves to be watched with fresh eyes." Kayleigh Donaldson of "Syfy Wire" praised the cinematography, and said, "...[the film stands as one of the strongest representations of Shyamalan’s ethos, for better or worse." Carlos Morales of "IGN" argued that the film was misunderstood at the time of its release because it was mismarketed as a horror film, and also because of audience expectations that had been built up by Shyamalan's three previous films. "The real twist was that the movie they wanted wasn't the one Shyamalan made."