Awake

Awake adds new levels to the title of psychological thriller. Just when you think you know what's going on, a new twist rocks you with a shock bigger than the one before. With a charismatic cast and Jessica Alba going to new lengths as an actress, this movie is sure get your heart pumping. Hayden Christiansen gives new depth to the term anesthetic awareness. This movie grabs you and refuses to let go. This movie "does for operations, what Jaws did for the water"-Frank Scheck, Hollywood Reporter. Terrence Howard is slightly confusing and makes you wonder. Every thing is achieved, and this movie deserves more recognition than it is getting. I thank the writer Joby Harold for allowing me to slip into a deep sleep for almost two hours filled with frightening, disturbing, and brilliant dreams.

I'm not going to put any spoilers in this review, but this is certainly a movie with some great twists and turns. I haven't been this excited about an upcoming release since The Sixth Sense or Memento. Hard to believe this is the director's first feature (although it's possible he cut his teeth in the commercial or music video world... I'm not sure) I mean, certainly the film has a few problems, some of the moments didn't ring exactly true to me and the music was a touch maudlin at times. But when this film gets it right, it gets it really right. I was on the edge of my seat from the second act on. It's the first film I've seen in awhile that manages to balance a genuine emotionality with a strong thriller aspect. Even Hayden Christensen, who I think we all had our doubts about after Episodes I-III, puts in a memorable and affecting performance. Definitely a film to see and a director I'll be keeping my eye on.

When I rented Awake I had no expectations really, just another quick grab off the shelf to try my luck. However, I was quite surprised to find that I liked this cunning thriller more than your ordinary every day "waste some time" flick. I thought that the plot and scheme to the story were wonderful. Yes, there were some parts that bored me, and the film seemed even a little egotistical at times, but I was surely concentrated through the whole movie. It certainly knew the sense of keeping the audience on a string whether they cared to be or not.

This is a movie that I had wanted to see ever since the trailer was let out on TV because it looked more interesting than other trailers I had seen at the time, even though I had forgotten what it was about by the time I rented it. There was probably about a few things that bothered me about this film, but I am not going to reminisce on them because overall the movie delivers and you really overlook it's minor problems. Anyway, this movie was entertaining, brilliantly scripted, and shockingly suspenseful. The twist you never see coming and the performances are believable and professional. I loved it for what it was, and a little bit more so..

Some of the hardest reviews to write are the ones where you don't know what to say. "Awake" is one of them. Let me just start with the basics. Do I recommend it? Yes. Is it GOOD? That's what's hard to say about this movie. Some parts of "Awake" are good, but some are merely okay.

Like many thrillers, telling much about the plot defeats the purpose of seeing the movie. However, I will tell as much as I can.

The story goes like this. A rich young man named Clay (Hayden Christensen) goes into the hospital for a heart transplant, and he suffers from anesthetic awareness (meaning he can feel and hear everything, but can't do anything about it). This is key because what he hears changes everything.

That's about all I can say. "Awake" is an entertaining little thriller, and Jody Harold certainly has potential as a writer/director. His low-key handling of the film makes for an interesting, almost dreamy approach, but I don't know if it works like it's supposed to, because I have a feeling that it decreases the amount of suspense that the material warrants. That said, the unusual tone makes up for this deficiency.

The acting is solid too. Hayden Christensen became famous for his portrayal of Anakin Skywalker in the second and third "Star Wars" episodes. His first outing wasn't great, and called into question his acting ability. However, his second round with the light saber was terrific, and his performance here shows that "Episode 2" was more likely to be an anomaly than the norm when it comes to his acting ability. His co-star Jessica Alba isn't as good, but it proves that she has more acting ability than many people give her credit for (her reputation for being a tabloid sensation and the limited acting options that result from it are probably to blame). Terrence Howard is solid, but he isn't given much to work with. Same goes for Lena Olin.

Personally, I think it sucks when you like a movie but a lot of that feeling disappears when someone points out something that causes that to decrease. Such a thing happened with me and reading a review after watching "Awake," but I won't say it because it's still a good movie to see.

So, is "Awake" a good movie, or just a movie with enough good points to warrant a viewing? I'd say it's somewhere in between, leaning more towards good.

Awake is a surgery thriller released in 2007. Hayden Christensen and Jessica Alba were both major stars starring in mainstream films at the time. Both likeable actors whom receiver plenty of backlash for their "lack of acting talent".

However in this film, they both deliver convincing performances. Terrence Howard also has a supporting role and plays it as he has done many times before.

Awake is elevated by its twists near the end. As watching, we may get more of a sense as to what is occurring but in general these turns are quite unpredictable. The way everything gets pieces together was entertaining.

The scenes regarding Hayden in the "out-of-body" experience are quite telling. The use of flashbacks and scenes re-showing him with the cameras from the perspective and point of view of his character are quite clever. In the end, it was left making an engaging enough thriller with a relatively small runtime, and it didn't need to be long.