Red Eye

I've seen this film so many times and it is exciting and entertaining every time. This film works so well thanks to the way the antagonist was set up. You honestly would never have guessed!

The film holds a few interesting twists and surprises. Cillian Murphy and Rachel McAdams are both excellent and believable in their roles. Just like 'Speed' the film gets even more thrilling and interesting when you think its almost over. I absolutely love this!

Not a bad movie, but once it got to the halfway point it seemed like too much was crammed into a short period of time. Felt too short. The story does have some memorable parts. Nice little PG-13 thriller. Odd viewing it for the first time after 20 years of it being released. I was mildly surprised to have never heard of it with big names (in the present) like Rachel McAdams and Cillian Murphy. Parts of it are kinda hollow. One sad attempt at a side story personalization is with a little girl on the flight. It was a typical early 2000s context focus on an irrelevant character. Honestly thinking now this seems almost like a way to get younger audience members involved in the story. There's a small degree of cheesiness. But as having been very much alive during the time period it made nostalgic for those days. Captured the feeling of airports and air travel that I've grown up with. If there was more time given to the filmmaker to develop the second half of the story so it doesn't feel so rushed I would enjoy it much more.

Wes Craven's psychological thriller "Red Eye" isn't something we haven't already seen, but the standard format actually generates into a tight, snappy and gripping experience. After breaking away from its vulnerable, claustrophobic intensity. Craven effectively heightens the suspense, for a heart stopping and dazzling last-half potboiler, despite some elaborate and questionable details. This is sure a different mood for Craven, and you probably wouldn't know it was he behind it. Being short and sweet makes the flying time go by in no time. Quantity seems to be replaced with quality, but still this is a streamlined lightweight commercial flight for audiences. The taut premise builds up nicely, because of an always engagingly sharp and sly script. However it does seem to get quite silly, and overstated towards the spontaneous closing. Even the whole set-up is very wishy-washy. One of its driving factors were the profound lead performances. The lovely Rachael McAdams gives a dedicated, headstrong performance. Opposite of her is a sensationally suave, but sinisterly steely Cillian Murphy. The two gelled very well, and their back-and-forth banter was expertly delivered. Veteran actor Brian Cox provides some solidarity, and pleasant support. The cracking music score by Marco Beltrami demonstrates slick panache, and well-timed cues. Craven and his two leads; McAdams and Murphy lift this one up a notch.

Red Eye is not the kind of movie that's going to win the Palme D'or, but Wes Craven has never been that kind of director, anyway, and his branding is a good indication of what a film-goer can expect.

The fact that Red Eye is a tight little, undemanding package at 94 minutes is part of its charm and an indication of Craven's craft in producing lightweight, but generally enjoyable, box office fare. In fact, it's the perfect kind of movie to show as inflight entertainment, attention-holding without putting any intellectual or emotional challenges on the viewer.

Overall there is a cheesy feeling to the plot, vague terrorist subplot motivation and the supporting characters, and the main section has a TV movie feel. However, there are definite elements of Hitchcockian suspense, and echoes of Schumacher's Phone Booth, which ultimately is a more sophisticated (and pretentious) play on the same idea of emotional crisis being played out suppressed in public.

For a film that focuses mainly on two people sitting in airline seats, it lives or dies on the characters and script. Cillian's icy but eloquent Jackson Rippner and Rachel MacAdams resourceful Lisa are the main reasons the film gets carried off. Not only making the dialogue zing but also giving some sort of Adam's Rib type dimension to their battle of 'male logic' against feminine 'sensitivity'.

In the final portion of the film Craven indulges himself a little Scream style as man-chases-girl-with-knife. The most surprising revelation here is what Brian Cox looks like after the 'Just for Men' treatment, his ubiqutous appearance in films as diverse as Super Troopers, The Ring and this making him the sexegenarian version of Jude Law.

Short haul fun.

When Red Eye first came out I thought it was somewhat cheesy and lacking in any scriptural integrity. However, revisiting this 10 years later has changed my mind. It actually is quite a nice thriller, with the action starting very early, even before they board the plane. You understand the Cillian Murphy character is "off" almost from the outset. Great thrillers offer subtle humor as well, and this one does in droves. While I love aviation movies, most of the action appears after the plane lands. But that is OK, as the movie keeps up the pace throughout. A nice, tight suspense film with (yes, some questionable acting here and there), but overall a nice suspense/thriller.