I had a dream about Vanilla Sky. And you were there. And you were there....

Rating: Null/10 (6 November 2004)

I love it when commercials and trailers revealed nothing. I knew absolutely nothing of the plot and was excited to be fill in from the ground floor. I was ready for some mind-twisting have-to-watch-it-twice-to-get-it kind of movie; and it started out that way. However, by the middle of the movie, the plot was quickly reduced to being a high-class cliché. The production team dressed this movie up with symbolism, metaphoric dialogues, and situations far less complex than it appears. But then again, the point in the movie is to never underestimate the little things, especially the little decisions we made everyday.
At some level I think Mission Impossible is even deeper and less predictable. But if you are one of those people who want to see this kind of movie to boost your brain's ego, Vanilla Sky still has enough meat in it to satisfy, especially those interested in cameos and pop culture references.
Cameron Crowe's dialogues are as great as always. The beautiful Manhattan background helps the story by being a fantastic larger-than-life place that can only exist inside a dream, yet exists for real. And the acting is top notch (it better be, considering all the stars). So when every other thing goes right, it all boils down to the plot itself.
Part of the problem with the story is that dream is a cheap plot device for a psychological drama. It's too easy (and dare i even say cheesy) to put character in a situation and then tells the audience near or at the end "it's only a dream." That's too Wizard of Oz (which that movie could barely get away with). Sure, the plot expanded a lot more than that with questions like: why the character chose to dream, how he discovered the dream, and why things went wrong etc. But even the dressing of the surprises are all clichés (curse you evil corporation. curse you evil doctors and lawyers trying to play god. etc.) And that is quite disappointing. (this is not a spoiler by the way, because it was obvious that his reality is quite unstable from the beginning. The true question is what is the reasoning for the dreams, where it started, and where it ended, which I did not reveal... and wasn't that great).
Now I heard that this is a remake. I don't need to compare it with the original because... I don't care. But despite what I stated above, this movie is still enjoyable; not because of its story, but because of how it was delivered (once again, Cameron Crowe, New York, etc.). If you were afraid to pick up this movie because you think it might be too heavy, you are mistaken. The movie is as simple as Truman Show and Matrix. And if you are one of those mainstream viewers who don't like/get this kind of movie, think of this as a transition movie. It's not too complicated to be annoying, but complex enough to help you feel a little bit smart for understanding it, and why you will never watch it for a second time. 7.5/10