A Masterpiece! Far superior to the Original

Rating: 10/10 (18 August 2014)

There seem to be two main criticisms of this film. Either it is confusing and hard to follow, or it is a poor remake of the original. I found both of these claims to be nonsense, but at least I can understand the first. The key to our understanding does not show up until the very end, but given this key, the movie is perfectly consistent, and you may not notice the greatness of the film without a second or a third viewing.
As to the second claim, this film is superior to the original in every way I would care to compare them, and I can only chock up the opposite opinion to a common, and mostly justified, bias against any Hollywood film, especially one starring Tom Cruise. To this mindset, the film is doomed from the start, regardless of it's actual merits. I would normally share such opinions, but this film is something special. Tom Cruise is perfect in his role and as much as you might hate him personally as so many seem to do, he is very good, as is Penelope Cruz.
Just some advice to new viewers, have patience and trust that in the end all will be explained. The first 40 minutes can turn a lot of people off, but just wait. and for those who have watched the movie only once and found it wanting, try watching it again. You may be surprised. After my first viewing I thought it was just OK, but after several it has become one of my top 10 favorite films of all time. You might want to give it another chance as well.