Attractive Cast In A Shallow Film

Rating: 7/10 (30 April 2004)

I`ve never seen the Spanish movie ABRE LOS OJOS on which VANILLA SKY is based but do recall that everyone who has seen the original European movie destest this Hollywood remake . I will be honest in saying that I absolutely loved this version first time I saw it . In fact it came close to beating BLACK HAWK DOWN as my second favourite release from 2001 ( FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING being my outstanding favourite movie from that year ) but then when I saw it a second time I was far less impressed
***** POSSIBLE SPOILER *****
Because the plot twist at the end this is not a movie that stands up to repeated viewing . In many ways it`s like watching a whodunnit where you know fine well who the murderer is which means all the suspense of working out what`s happening to Tom Cruise`s character has totally evaporated , it`s to all intents and purposes a one trick pony . It should also be pointed out that by 2001 the premise of this movie was starting to go stale since the central idea of TOTAL RECALL and THE MATRIX and its sequels have similar ideas , and watching it again I do get the impression that it`s a rather shallow film despite - Or because of - the director putting in a large amount of pop culture into the proceedings . I should also point out Tom Cruise seems to have a problem playing such a bitter and twisted character , yeah he was a revelation in BORN ON THE FOURTH OF JULY but can`t seem able to inject enough anger onto his on screen performance here

But no doubt a lot of women hired this on video simply because it starred Cruise . It`s not really fair that one man can be so good looking especially since the only film star this reviewer resembles is Gollum from THE TWO TOWERS . I can`t help also noticing that most of the comments from people who hate this movie are male . I honestly believe this comes down to wives watching this on video in the comfort of their home , dragging their husband to bed as soon as the closing credits start , making wild passionate love and screaming " TOM " at that most intimate climatic moment . Well Ive got a question for you ladies - Who do you think your husband was fantasizing about during that mind blowing sex session ? Was it Penelope Cruz or was it Cameron Diaz ?