My humble opinion...

Rating: Null/10 (22 January 2002)

First: I would like to thank the filmmakers for making Vanilla Sky. Until I heard about Vanilla Sky I had never heard of the film Abre los Ojosm or Alejandro Amenabar.
Second: To correct some of these reviewers, Alejandro IS given writing credit for this film and who cares if Penelope Cruz reprised the role for the American version. If she was the right person for the first one, then why not cast her for this version?
Now that being said. I had gone to the theatre in order to see Gosford Park but it was sold out and the only thing showing at the same time was Vanilla Sky. Since it has been out for some weeks, I figured the theatre would not be packed so I went for it. I had heard very mixed reviews about this movie and didn't know anyone (who's opinion I can trust) who had seen it. I am not a big Tom Cruise fan and had a bit of reluctance. I liked Cameron Crowe's past work but some of the reviewers claimed that this was not a style of movie that he should be handling. Well I have to say I'm happy Gosford Park was sold out. I think Mr. Crowe did a great job and even Mr. Cruise didn't get on my nerves. In fact the only other movie I actually liked Tom Cruise in was Jerry Maguire . go figure. I guess they just work well together.
In all honesty I knew going in that this film dealt with dreams and not knowing what's real or not, so on and so forth. So, I opened my mind and just took it all in. From the first minute I was hooked. I was completely sucked into this intriguing story and then sideswiped by the surprise ending. Ah, the ending (no spoilers) it left me with butterflies in my stomach. What a frightening prospect. I obviously didn't see it coming, but on hindsight (and for some of you VS bashers out there), there is a mild hint/reference to the ending at the beginning of the film. The visuals in this film are wonderful. I loved the Times Square scene. The performances are great. I especially enjoyed Cameron Diaz as the one-hell-of-a frightening, "I'm about to loose it, you can see it in my eyes" spooky-girl portrayal. I hadn't seen Penelope Cruz in much else but I thought she was great. Jason Lee was Jason Lee. I didn't even know the Kurt Russell was in the movie until I saw him on the screen. A delightful surprise and a nice performance.
Ok, so why all this bashing of Vanilla Sky by the fans of Abre los Ojosm anyway? If one is to believe some of the reviewers, this is a COPY of Abre los Ojosm. So, does that mean in order to have an interesting tale told to us we must speak a foreign language or read subtitles and miss the visuals? I hope not. There would be a lot of disappointed people out their if that where true. I applaud people that have the courage to translate movies, as well as books into versions that suite the audiences watching or reading them. I can think of one work in particular that scores of people's lives would be very different if the original had not been redone in a different language. One version is the King James.
I urge everyone to form his or her own opinion of course. But I think about the fact that I almost missed this one by listening to the jaded opinions of what seem to be rather narrow-minded people.
Oh! One last thought. I've read some reviews that compare Vanilla Sky to The Game and that's too bad. The Game, while it kept you wondering what was really going on, was in the end an insulting let down. I.e. Michael Douglas' character was being shot at with blanks. blanks that tore everything to pieces and left holes in everything. huh? And just how did they know he was going to jump from that side of the building???? Vanilla Sky wraps everything up pretty neatly. Some say conveniently. I think the end was well-done and very thought provoking. That's just my humble opinion.