Ahoy, squirts! Quint here with a little review of Wes Craven's RED EYE... Alright, that sounds really gross to me for some reason, so let me rephrase that. I'm going to take a look at Wes Craven's newest flick called RED EYE starring Rachel ("Everybody Loves Me!") McAdams, Cillian Murphy and Brian Cox.
I'm gonna start by saying that I liked the film and I'm really happy the response to the film has been pretty great, but I don't quite think it's as great as a lot of people are saying it is. I think it's like a reverse of what happened to Uwe Boll. ALONE IN THE DARK was a shitty movie, but not nearly as shitty as HOUSE OF THE DEAD, yet the stink of HOTD hadn't worn off and covered ALONE IN THE DARK, which is responsible for AITD getting even worse reviews and less money at the Box Office than HOTD.
What's happening to RED EYE is the positive opposite of that. People are so glad this movie isn't as shitty as CURSED that they're loving the movie that much more because of it. I guess since, unlike ALONE IN THE DARK, there is actually something solid to grab on to, some truly clever filmmaking and likable actors that's what's keeping the "Boll syndrome" from happening to Craven.
There is a lot to like about this movie, starting with the two leads, Rachel McAdams and Cillian Murphy. The chemistry between them is immediately noticeable and isn't lost when the flirting pretense is thrown aside. The chemistry starts as a sexual attraction and morphs into two big personalities at conflict. Cillian Murphy is sly, charming and creepy all at once. McAdams is a little harder to pin down. She's most certainly vulnerable, but she's also got a strength that makes her hard to peg. She does a good job at keeping the character from becoming an unlikable bimbo.
The script helps her in this regard as every move she makes to thwart Murphy on the plane is a smart one, but due to circumstance or just plain intelligence on the part of Murphy she's foiled.
If the movie had stayed on the plane, it would probably have been one of my favorite movies of the year. All the intelligent character work and all the clever plot points go down on the plane, forcing Craven to be equally sharp as a director. There comes a moment as the plane lands at its final destination where something big happens. If this something big had been the end, I would have thought it a tad anti-climactic, but would have greatly preferred it to SCREAM 4 which is what the last act turns in to. Especially if I consider that if they had ended the film on the plane they would have structured it differently and built to that ending as a true ending and not just an event.
I know I'm being vague, but I just don't feel the need to ruin the whole flick for somebody... plus there are tons of spoiler-filled reviews out there. I walked into the movie seeing nothing but that first, neat trailer... remember the one that started off like a romantic comedy trailer and then ends with Cillian Murhy's eye going over red?
I actually have to say that trailer kinda lead me to expect a different type of movie. I was certain there would be a supernatural element to it. I didn't know if Murphy was a form of the Devil or something else, but when that red floated around his eye in the trailer I thought I was going to be in for a completely different film. It doesn't happen in the film. Murphy's just a man. That wasn't a huge shock to me, ultimately. As human as the two leads are, they never got boring.
That's about all I have to say about the movie. I liked it. Didn't love-love-love it, but thank God it's not another CURSED. See how that works? C'mon back to the good side, Wes! I know you have another NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET level of film in ya'! Stay away from the WB and come up with something really nasty. That's all I ask...
So, on the whole... the film is a brilliant 45 minute short subject stretched to feature length. At 75-ish minutes, this movie is quick, but still filled with a half-hour of filler or ridiculous shit. However the stuff that works works well enough to keep me from disliking the movie.
Oh, and yes... I love Brian Cox and he's not bad in the movie, but he is woefully underused. He's also dropped a lot of weight and is kinda freaking me out... Just thought I'd bring that up 'cause I know that if I read a review of flick with Brian Cox in it and didn't read anything about Brian Cox I'd be a bit pissed off. So's you know.
I've also got to pop out a review of today's THE 40 YEAR OLD VIRGIN, so I'm gonna start working on that. Hope you folks enjoyed the review. Be back soon with more. 'Til then this is Quint bidding you all a fond farewell and adieu.
-Quint
