What a pity...

Rating: 4/10 (20 February 2002)

I'm part of the viewers who watched "Abre los ojos" before "Vanilla sky", so I couldn't help making a comparison between both.
Amenabar's film was brilliant, psychologically dark and convincing, and genuinely original.
This one ... well, I was outraged at seeing what Crowe and Cruise had made : apart from the allusions to Manet, rock music and the French "Nouvelle Vague", all the good ideas (and even some dialogues) were copied from the initial movie, without any imagination !
Worse : in contrary to the first film, this remake was silly, from beginning to end, certainly because Cruise was less interested in the movie itself than in his "image" as a golden boy, whose private life is deprived of any interest for me (sorry for his fans).
As a result, actors never find the "right tone" (except from Penelop Cruz, who was all the same better in Abre los ojos), and there is no suspense or anguish any more - only some silly humor.
To all the people who found this movie intelligent and original, please first watch "Abre los ojos" !