Disappointingly disappointing

Rating: 6/10 (5 February 2002)

When I first heard about this film I couldn't wait to see it. 'Another quirky film with a Fight Club twist' I was told; 'If you liked Twelve Monkeys and Memento [loved 'em] you'll enjoy this.' Not necessarily true.
While watchable, I was left with an empty feeling when exiting the cinema. I was hoping for so much more, but all I got was a below-average movie with a good ending. An interesting idea, I feel Cruise snapped up the rights to 'Open Your Eyes' without thinking about how the film would come across in the mainstream. Crowe tried his best, but I don't think enough was added to make the improvements the film needed. While enjoying the last third (to a point - anyone who states it isn't taking huge liberties regarding Total Recall is kidding themselves) I was only just managing to keep my attention after the fairly drab bulk of the film. Yes character building was a necessity in this story, but the love story alone was not enough for me to warrant 90 minutes + of my viewing. A new angle or sub-plot needed to be implemented.
Sadly I wasn't even kept thinking throughout. I knew very little about the film beforehand but I could predict it like a particularly badly written episode of Neighbours from fairly early on in the picture. Once again: disappointing. 6/10