A very interesting and fascinating film, though the original is better

Rating: 8/10 (12 June 2004)

First, I'd like to mention that since watching this, I have seen Abre Los Ojos(or 'Open Your Eyes', as it's called in English), the film which this is a remake of. Upon comparison, the Spanish original is by far the better film, in my opinion, in that it is more ambiguous and dark, and more of a science fiction piece, less of a drama. I won't claim that this means that this movie is nothing more than a Hollywood version of the original(as some might suspect it is). This does have its own merit, and Crowe does a fairly good job of translating the film without losing the essence. The film is very interesting, as it's based on a pretty old idea in science fiction(which I won't reveal here, as it's impossible to tell it without giving away the twist of the film, thereby pretty much ruining the experience of it), and it utilizes this idea, which is pretty much the main theme of the film(though you don't know this until the very end) very good. The plot is very good, something most people can relate to, and it moves along at an pretty good pace, but on repeated viewings it does get a little boring. The character development is well-handled, you know what you want and need to know about the characters. The acting is all good, there isn't really any of the actors who doesn't do his or her job well. The characters are well-written and credible. I enjoyed the humor in the film, and the well-placed self-irony of Tom Cruise's character in some scenes. There isn't a lot of humor in the film, but the amount there is, is just right, I think. I liked the film for messing with the audience's mind so much. I will, however, agree with those that say that the end explained too much; it didn't leave much room for further analysis, instead it just handed the answers to you on a silver platter. That was a bad decision, definitely, and it was far better in the original, Spanish film. Explaining everything might have opened it up to a broader audience, but dumbing it down like that disappointed a lot of people who could have figured it out by themselves, and should have been given the chance. Alejandro Almenabar is, by far, the superior director, and his version, the original, Abre Los Ojos, is definitely better than this, and more intelligent, less mainstream. I do think Cameron Crowe did a nice job, though. I recommend this to fans of science fiction and drama, who have the patience for it, and the ability to think about what they see, instead of just taking it for being exactly what it seems to be. 8/10