overlong and dull

Rating: Null/10 (7 September 2003)

Decided to give this one a chance, even though I never had high expectations. Amenabars version was an intriguing reality-warping thriller, that was very effective. Unfortunately and not surprisingly, these qualities have not survived the Hollywoodization. Besides beeing overlong and dull, Crowe effectively kills the potential tension by layering pop songs over virtually every scene. He should stay away from the thriller genre in the future, and continue with character-driven ensemble pieces. The DVD has a interesting "behind the scenes"-look at the promo tour. Crowe meets Amenabar at a party in Spain, and I can sense what goes through Amenabars head. Something like: "You Hollywood-big shot, who remade my movie into a piece of s**t, go back to where you came from and take this overblown promotional circus with you..."