Review of Vanilla Sky (2001) by Josh L — 17 Aug 2012

Vanilla Sky, a remake of the 1997 Spanish masterpiece Abre Los Ojos(Open Your Eyes), is a good example of how a film that closely follows its original source material can still become deeply flawed. Despite not having any major comprimises to the script, subtle changes nearly completely ruin what was present in the first film.

David(Tom Cruise) is substantially more unlikable than Cesar(Eduardo Noriega) and that he gives the film a completely different atmosphere. A different message is sent, giving the story a different feel despite having nearly the exact same plot.

The added humor is quite enjoyable at times but completely diminishes the horror elements. The dialogue is a give and take. Some memorable lines are quite catchy while some just don't seem to fit in and match the personality of the characters.

Not much drama is present either and Patrick Swayze isn't exactly the best psychiatrist, in contrast to Chete Lera, despite being a great actor. Penelope Cruz's perfomance is one of the finer changes to the film, somewhat improved but feels substantial.

The cinematography evidently has an ambigious vibe to it and while some scenes are improved a majority fall flat due to a more modernized approach, which, yet again, takes away the suspence; ultimately making this a "broken" remake.