Review of Red Eye (2005) by Timothy S — 17 Jan 2014

Seasoned director Wes Craven has been making great genre movies for decades, but with "Red Eye", he moves up to the big leagues with a prestige studio and a capable cast of talented actors. Being a fan of his for years, it's nice to see him succeed so well with this smart, taut summer movie with a touch of political thriller thrown in for good measure.

The best Hitchcock films take ordinary people and throw them into extraordinary circumstances, and this picture follows that some formula. Rachel Mc Adams carries her first major motion picture effortlessly and finds just the right balance between vulnerability and strength, and that gives the finale some real impact. It's so refreshing to see her take the fight to her co-star Cillian Murphy. Still, it is Murphy who makes the biggest impression here, a suave psychopath with those eerie eyes you can't turn away from. This should have been the movie to make him a star, and that inexplicably never happened.

The first half of the film is the slow and steady build-up, and it draws you in with some wonderfully tense and quiet moments between the two stars. The more action-oriented second half is the satisfying payoff to this exciting and briskly paced movie. There is not one wasted moment here, and some nice touches of effective humor keeps things lively as well.

With "Red Eye", Craven steps outside of his comfort zone with exceptional results that don't stray too far from his roots. It's a terrific thriller.