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Movie Review
Red Eye
By Lee Tistaert Published August 23, 2005
US Release: August 19, 2005
Directed by: Wes Craven
Starring: Rachel McAdams , Cillian Murphy
PG-13
Running Time: 85 minutes
Domestic Box Office: $57,859,105
Directed by: Wes Craven
Starring: Rachel McAdams , Cillian Murphy
PG-13
Running Time: 85 minutes
Domestic Box Office: $57,859,105
C
74 of 143
Red Eye is an awkward directing choice considering {Wes} Craven goes right back to applying all the stupid elements he once mocked.
Red Eye is one of those movies that comes out once in a while in which you look at the critics and wonder what drugs they were on during their viewing. There is not one ounce of creative material here, and the movie pulls all the expected thriller clich?s that it can get its hands on. Maybe I?m just not a fan of the cheap and easy thrill rides in which the story takes backseat to mindless and pointless action, as the movie that Red Eye can be most compared to ? Cellular (C), is a predictable, cheesy genre flick that I hated equally. Red Eye is as dumb and painfully obvious a thriller as Cellular, with a constant soundtrack always telling us exactly how to feel in the moment, replete with cheese-ball comedic one-liners and useless side characters.
Rachel McAdams plays a young woman (Lisa) whose flight is delayed at the airport, and in the process she meets a charming young man (Jack, played by Cilliam Murphy) who just happens to sit next to her on the flight. They strike chitchat with ease, but once the flight takes off he is not as harmless as he appeared. He says he?s an assassin without any hint of joking around, and plans to have her father executed if she does not do exactly as he says; a wealthy businessman in a hotel she works at needs to be moved to another room (by her request) for his own execution. Caught in a bit of a pickle, Lisa must act fast before this psycho can make his next move.
The ads for Red Eye are highlighting director Wes Craven as if he is some ?master? of the genre. Ah yes, he is considered ?the master of horror,? a tagline I?ve never understood. The Scream flicks are movies I unashamedly enjoyed (B, B, and B-) ? the first two a little more than the third. But to call them revolutionary is a bit of a stretch (a killer in a mask who will be revealed at the end?three times?is not exactly original). I felt they had well-drawn characters and the writing actually made fun of the genre, including their own stories. And this genre is so ripe with clich?s that it was about time filmmakers stopped taking themselves seriously (I?m still waiting for other filmmakers to have as much fun with their material). For someone who acknowledged the ridiculousness of the genre with that trilogy, Red Eye is an awkward directing choice considering Craven goes right back to applying all the stupid elements he once mocked.
Wes Craven made a name with himself with A Nightmare on Elm Street (C-), which catapulted him for reasons I?ll never know - I thought it was a terrible, cheesy flick that wasn?t even scary. Craven uses similar techniques here to generate horror, as well as techniques that every other slasher uses (you gotta love the soundtrack that pounds at your ears, as well as the heightened music at the presence of terror?because it definitely makes it scarier).
Craven has never been one for story, as he seemed to have gotten lucky to find Kevin Williamson, who wrote the first two Screams (which, alongside part three, are Wes?s only good movies). What can be said about the writing for Red Eye is that it gets right to the point (and keeps going at an even pace), a quality I always admire, as I hate pointless plot filler. But that bright point is immediately ruined because nothing is set up sufficiently enough to care. The character development is forced, and the tone is just so broad and airy; this is the kind of stupid, breezy flick you fall asleep to on the couch at two in the morning.
The good news is that Red Eye is a little under 80 minutes, excluding the end credits. This is one of the ultimate definitions of a quick time waster, but it does what escapism isn?t supposed to do: waste your time. I realize these kinds of flicks are only meant to be entertaining, and any sense of critical analyzing can be balked at, but when you know the entire formula and there is nothing else in store, what really is there to be entertained by? Some people would say ?just sit back, relax, and enjoy? or ?take it for what it is,? and on the latter, I did.
Rachel McAdams plays a young woman (Lisa) whose flight is delayed at the airport, and in the process she meets a charming young man (Jack, played by Cilliam Murphy) who just happens to sit next to her on the flight. They strike chitchat with ease, but once the flight takes off he is not as harmless as he appeared. He says he?s an assassin without any hint of joking around, and plans to have her father executed if she does not do exactly as he says; a wealthy businessman in a hotel she works at needs to be moved to another room (by her request) for his own execution. Caught in a bit of a pickle, Lisa must act fast before this psycho can make his next move.
The ads for Red Eye are highlighting director Wes Craven as if he is some ?master? of the genre. Ah yes, he is considered ?the master of horror,? a tagline I?ve never understood. The Scream flicks are movies I unashamedly enjoyed (B, B, and B-) ? the first two a little more than the third. But to call them revolutionary is a bit of a stretch (a killer in a mask who will be revealed at the end?three times?is not exactly original). I felt they had well-drawn characters and the writing actually made fun of the genre, including their own stories. And this genre is so ripe with clich?s that it was about time filmmakers stopped taking themselves seriously (I?m still waiting for other filmmakers to have as much fun with their material). For someone who acknowledged the ridiculousness of the genre with that trilogy, Red Eye is an awkward directing choice considering Craven goes right back to applying all the stupid elements he once mocked.
Wes Craven made a name with himself with A Nightmare on Elm Street (C-), which catapulted him for reasons I?ll never know - I thought it was a terrible, cheesy flick that wasn?t even scary. Craven uses similar techniques here to generate horror, as well as techniques that every other slasher uses (you gotta love the soundtrack that pounds at your ears, as well as the heightened music at the presence of terror?because it definitely makes it scarier).
Craven has never been one for story, as he seemed to have gotten lucky to find Kevin Williamson, who wrote the first two Screams (which, alongside part three, are Wes?s only good movies). What can be said about the writing for Red Eye is that it gets right to the point (and keeps going at an even pace), a quality I always admire, as I hate pointless plot filler. But that bright point is immediately ruined because nothing is set up sufficiently enough to care. The character development is forced, and the tone is just so broad and airy; this is the kind of stupid, breezy flick you fall asleep to on the couch at two in the morning.
The good news is that Red Eye is a little under 80 minutes, excluding the end credits. This is one of the ultimate definitions of a quick time waster, but it does what escapism isn?t supposed to do: waste your time. I realize these kinds of flicks are only meant to be entertaining, and any sense of critical analyzing can be balked at, but when you know the entire formula and there is nothing else in store, what really is there to be entertained by? Some people would say ?just sit back, relax, and enjoy? or ?take it for what it is,? and on the latter, I did.
Lee's Grade: C
Ranked #74 of 143 between Memoirs of a Geisha (#73) and House of D (#75) for 2005 movies.
Ranked #74 of 143 between Memoirs of a Geisha (#73) and House of D (#75) for 2005 movies.
Lee's Overall Grading: 3025 graded movies
| A | 0.4% | |
| B | 30.0% | |
| C | 61.7% | |
| D | 8.0% | |
| F | 0.0% |
'Red Eye' Articles
- Scott's review C+
August 28, 2005 Even though this movie has an intriguing setup, it ends up not doing much with it. -- Scott Sycamore
