Red Eye

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On an overnight flight from Los Angeles to Miami, Lisa Reisert (Rachel McAdams) meets a charming man who turns out to be a hired killer who demands her help killing a businessman or else her own father will die. Red Eye is a terrific thriller that keeps the audience on the edge of their seats. The premise is similar to Cellular and Phone Booth but Red Eye is better than both of those films. Almost everything about Red Eye is above average including the suspense, the acting and the direction. Most of the film does take place on a plane but that doesn't slow down the movie. The film is very fast pace and exciting with no slow or boring spots. Wes Craven does a really good job behind the camera. Instead of focusing on the thrills, he focuses on the story and the characters. The movie does have its share of suspenseful moments but that's not what the film is really about. I also like the way Wes Craven focuses on the other passengers and the small details that become important later on. Red Eye really shows his skills at storytelling. Red Eye also works well because of its young and talented cast. Rachel McAdams gives a very engaging performance and her character is hard to hate. You may even end up cheering for her out loud. Cillian Murphy gives a very creepy and effective performance as the villain. The way he acts charming at first but then turns psycho is especially impressive. The supporting actors are also pretty good which include Brain Cox and Jayma Mays. The movie is also very stylish and it has this overall creepy vibe to it. The setting works well since there is an obvious fear of isolation and no escape. Overall, the tone of the film is consistently creepy. The screenplay isn't as strong as everything else though. There are a few unrealistic moments that may distract the viewer. Most of them didn't bother me but there were of few that left me shaking my head. Also, the ending is disappointing. It isn't a bad ending just a very simple one and a different approach would have been better. Since the movie focuses on the characters, there is really no scream moments maybe just a few jumps. If you expect a horror movie then you will end up disappointed. In the end, Red Eye is an engaging thriller and it's one of the best movies of the summer. Rating 8/10

With the similarly set Flight Plan coming this fall, Red Eye shows that it can compete with the best of them in the thriller category. Director Wes Craven, best known for his popular horror films like Nightmare on Elm Street and Scream, has stretched his muscles into the suspense genre and has succeeded with a modest, effective gem. Lisa Reisert (Rachel McAdams) is a hotel manager who is flying home from a funeral when she meets a charming stranger, Jackson Ripper (Cillian Murphy), who ends up threatening her on board the flight. He wants her to call the hotel and change a seemingly innocent reservation for a VIP or her father will be killed. With this premise, a terrified Lisa must contemplate a way to save her father and prevent an even larger plot to assassinate the VIP (who is an official of Homeland Security). Despite her every move, Jackson manages to stay one step ahead of her. As the plane arrives at the airport and the VIP arrives at the hotel, Lisa acts out of desperation to protect not only her father but attempt to thwart a convoluted conspiracy. That's it! That is the storyline, and Craven makes the most of a simple setup in character and plot. As an exercise in visceral excitement, the film succeeds admirably with a simple, almost TV plot line. There is a good sketch of characters as they are casually introduced at the beginning. Once the setup is established at takeoff, the plot likewise takes a sinister turn. The interplay between Murphy's hunter and McAdams' hunted works quite well as they parry and thrust verbally and then figuratively in front of a mostly oblivious compliment of bystanders. It is remarkable how much of the film's running time takes place in such tight quarters, but that plays to the strengths of the script by Carl Ellsworth. It does not seem stagy, and yet the suspense quotient is heightened in this intriguing mousetrap. And Craven knows that a human monster like Ripper can be just as scary as any movie monster because it is part of a real world. The screenplay has some interesting subplots like the assassination scenario which by itself is innovative and not far fetched. At times there is Hitchcock feel with its 'every man' or in this case 'every woman' lead whose actions and thoughts draw the audience into complicity with the nefarious plot. You think, 'how is she ever going to warn her father and how the heck is she going to prevent this diabolical plan from being executed so to speak.' There are minor disappointments overall. It could have been a more compelling story had it delved deeper into Lisa's mysterious past and trauma and how she evolves as a person from her harrowing experience. But that's what comes from being spoiled by a film that starts out so promisingly. It does come back to earth when the plane touches down leading to a more standard action ending. The pace, however, is well edited for maximum effect. McAdams shows the appropriate terror and anxiety and is quite believable. After making her mark in films such as the romantic drama The Notebook and comedies like Mean Girls and Wedding Crashers, she is showing a good range of versatility, and by tackling this genre of suspense, she can move on to other subject matter worthy of her growing abilities. Murphy (quite good in Batman Returns) is talented enough to have other memorable roles. He mixes enough maniacal creepiness with cold, ruthless mercenary in guise of a handsome companion. He needs to avoid future psycho roles lest he becomes typecast. Although it resorts to a conventional ending, the ride is worth it. It is truly refreshing to see a film that knows when not to overstay its welcome as it clocks in at less than 90 minutes. Once the story is over, it's over. Maybe Mr. Craven might consider staying in this genre a bit longer. Red Eye is one nifty little thriller.

Lisa Reisert (Rachel McAdams) is a hotel manager on a late night plane back to Miami. She keeps running into Jackson Rippner (Cillian Murphy). He ends up sitting next to her on the plane. She strikes up a conversation with him, but he threatens to have her father killed if she doesn't change the room reservation of an important visitor. This is a nice tight little thriller as long as they're on the plane. The plane confines her, and heightens the tension. It works quite well. It needs to stay on the plane. With a few changes, the whole movie could have been great if they kept the movie all in the air. Once they leave the plane, the movie loses so much tension. It was also illogical that she couldn't ask people for a phone. It could have ended with a couple of calls. The whole action final third is unnecessary and unreasonable.

My goodness is this movie bad. I was totally misled by my local movie review because this is certifiable garbage. Yeah, yeah, good guys wear white, bad guys wear black....and the good guys always win. Now go home and hug your kids, and feel how good Hollywood has made you feel. Blech! I can't believe this brain dead movie was made by Wes Craven. I'm guessing he needed a little money to pay the mortgage, so he made this piece of dung. It is the sort of production that makes anyone who watches movies regularly believe they could do as good or better than such an experienced director. Ya see, a bad guy wants a sweet girl who loves her daddy to do a wittle IL' bad thing or he's gonna hurt her daddy. But being Ms. All-American girl next door, we know she's gonna save the day and beat the bad guys...the end. Girl power ROCKS. C'mon now, only an idiot would find this entertaining..."a roller coaster ride," let alone something fresh or new. All those "super-duper" reviews you see on this site are from industry hacks who are either making money off this flick, paying back a favor, or they have sold their souls to the devil. Rachael McAdams is beautiful....yup, that's it. Not a good performance, not a horrible one...she's just cute. She would have had to show a whole lot of skin to save this movie. She isn't tough enough to be a good female action lead. Cillian Murphy was at least passable in 28 Days. But here he plays a dumb villain pretending to be a smart one. He gets his ass kicked to and fro by the 5'5'' McAdams, because after all, she was a cheerleader...and a field hockey player...and I'm sure she owns all the Tae Bo tapes...so she should be able to kick the crap out of an international terrorist for hire. I wouldn't trust him to steal a pack of gum from 7-11. Ya see, this movie was done before, except before they did it well. Go re-rent any of the Die Hard movies. You have loved ones in danger, international terrorists, except the characters are more likable and believable and the bad guys are WAY more competent and interesting. I simply don't understand how Hollywood can continue to make such crap as if they were oblivious to the proper models they can readily copy. No wonder movie revenues are down. Throw your $6 down the toilet and save yourself 2 hours of your life you'll never get back. ciao, FreddyShoop

They sell it as a horror movie, it's supposed to be a thriller, but I found it pretty funny (comedy?, don't think so), I laughed the whole movie I think it was because of the ridiculous acting and plot. I don't blame the actors, I think they were not very good, but O.K. I think Cillian is a very good "bad guy" I loved his acting in Batman Beggins, and Rachel McAdams.. whoa! she's a beauty, and a good actress as well, but let's try to be a little objective here, the story mm mm... the direction mm mm... it lacks a lot of good suspense in fact is a really boring movie, but there's one good thing tho, it's a short movie, only 1 hour and 30 minutes (FOR ME IT WAS LIKE 10 MINUTES UNDER THE WATER!!!) I just don't know why this movie is rated so high, and in rotten tomatoes, even higher, what's wrong with good, rational and objective criticism?