Makes you think in some parts, refuses to let you think in others.

Rating: Null/10 (22 December 2001)

My initial reaction to my viewing of Vanilla Sky was that I liked it. Though it was not a completely original storyline (it was both a remake of the 1997 Spanish movie "Abre Los Ojos" and had Matrix and Sixth Sense elements to it) it was a very intriguing movie. As I left the theater, I turned the events of the movie over and over in my mind. I haven't seen a movie that made me think that much in a long time.
However, there are aspects of the movie that really insulted the viewer. At the end of the movie, the "tech support" guy explains the entire movie so completely that it leaves little room for interpretation by the viewer. It insults our intelligence and is reminiscent of the lame ending to another Cruise film "Eyes Wide Shut."
Tom Cruise, Cameron Diaz, Jason Lee and Penelope Cruz are all impressive in this movie although their characters (other than Lee) have many holes in them making them hard to understand in some parts of the movie.

Overall it's a fun movie but not a very good movie. I hope to see Abre Los Ojos to compare and contrast between the two and see which aspects of the Spanish original Cameron Crowe fudged up!
6 1/2 out of 10