Amenábar shouldn`t have sold his idea

Rating: 7/10 (28 January 2002)

Frankly speaking, I went to see this movie only for the reason I was curious about what Tom Cruise had made from this fantastic, terrific Spanish movie, but I was really disappointed. The only positive thing what I can say about the remake is that an empty Times Square at 9 o`clock in the morning is for sure far more impressive than Paseo de la Castellana in Madrid, and I liked the opening scene of Manhattan`s view from above. The rest is just a weak attempt to settle the story in the American reality. All the characters are much better in the original film, including Penélope Cruz: even if she has a lovely Spanish accent in English, the fact is in Amenábar`s movie she acted better. I also heard from people that hadn`t had the chance to see "Open your eyes" that it was very difficult for them to understand the plot. And finally, although Cruise spent, as I believe, bigger bucks on his film than Amenábar, adding all kinds of special effects, money is not everything: it`s talent what really matters.