Vanilla Sky (2001)
Average Rating: 5.2/10
Reviews Counted: 163
Fresh: 66 | Rotten: 97
An ambitious mix of genres, Vanilla Sky collapses into an incoherent jumble. Cruise's performance lacks depth, and it's hard to feel sympathy for his narcissistic character.
Average Rating: 4.6/10
Critic Reviews: 35
Fresh: 10 | Rotten: 25
An ambitious mix of genres, Vanilla Sky collapses into an incoherent jumble. Cruise's performance lacks depth, and it's hard to feel sympathy for his narcissistic character.
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Average Rating: 3/5
User Ratings: 269,094
Movie Info
A remake of the Spanish film Open Your Eyes (1997), this thriller from director Cameron Crowe bears one of several discarded titles for his previous, Oscar-winning film Almost Famous (2000). Tom Cruise stars as David Ames, a womanizing playboy who finds romantic redemption when he falls in love with his best friend's girlfriend Sofia (Penelope Cruz, reprising her role from the original film). Before that relationship can begin, however, David is coaxed into a car driven by an ex-lover, Julie
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Cast
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Tom Cruise
David Aames -
Penelope Cruz
Sofia Serrano -
Cameron Diaz
Julie Gianni -
Jason Lee
Brian Shelby -
Kurt Russell
McCabe -
Noah Taylor
Edmund Ventura -
Timothy Spall
Thomas Tipp -
Tilda Swinton
Rebecca Dearborn -
Alicia Witt
Libby -
Johnny Galecki
Peter Brown -
Michael Shannon
Aaron
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All Critics (177) | Top Critics (40) | Fresh (66) | Rotten (97) | DVD (37)
A good example of what self-destructive cinematic havoc can be wrought by handing over millions of dollars to movie stars to produce their own ego trips.
Top Critic[A] spectacular film!
If Crowe's eyes are open, he seems to have directed most of Vanilla Sky with his mind wide shut.
I have no idea why one of our most original film-makers would want to spend two years of his life translating someone else's movie from Spanish into English. And it wasn't such a good film in Spanish, either.
Who would have thought that Cameron Crowe had a movie as bad as Vanilla Sky in him?
Some surface appeal, but ultimately vacant.
Cameron Crowe's vinyl-collector version of "Jacob's Ladder" is a daring gamble paying off even when ambition exceeds his grasp. The subconscious can boil over with too much pop culture poured in. Keep that in mind, and it will have you at "What the hell?"
A truly horrible waste of money and talent and two and a half hours I'll never get back...
It just makes things easier to believe that good-looking rich folks are just as miserable and unhappy as the rest of us . . .
This is a whole new palette for Crowe, and his excitement rubs off on us.
A classic case of what happens when a Hollywood studio and a star (Cruise) take a Spanish metaphysical thriller and turn it into a glossy, overproduced big-budget star vehicle that lacks distinct identity.
Vanilla Sky turns out to be a rousing, exhilarating entertainment, thanks mostly to Cruise's balls-to-the-wall performance.
My suggestion is to avoid this film and instead rent Open Your Eyes (Abre Los Ojos) the film upon which Vanilla Sky was based.
Vanilla Sky is a long, complex, ambitious thriller that doesn't quite work.
Expect top notch work by Cruise, Crowe and Co.
The film is seamless, surprising and erotic, mixing the best elements of romance, sci fi and drama.
... A psychological thriller that will keep you guessing even after you've left the theater.
Crowe had a huge budget, and he uses it gloriously.
These Skies are not only Vanilla, but a bit too familiar . . . Tom Cruise once again plays himself playing a character
You mightn't see its like from mainstream Hollywood for some time.
...A seriously weird and intriguing psychological drama.
Perhaps the greatest mystery in Cruise-Crowe mindbender is why it doesn't quite work.
A great cast, a decent soundtrack and some memorable scenes make it ultimately worth watching. (But see the original if at all humanly possible.)
For all its shortcomings, Vanilla Sky exerts a hypnotic, otherwordly attraction.
An interesting failure... in a perverse way, while Vanilla Sky certainly doesn't stand up to Crowe's still-fresh masterwork Almost Famous, it does confirm his directorial prowess.
Audience Reviews for Vanilla Sky
Super Reviewer
This is the story of a womanizing playboy who gets disfigured and is forced to re-evaluate his life. In the process, there's the hope for redemption, but at the same time, he begins to realize that life and reality might not be actually what it seems, leading to him making some tough choices and realizations.
The cast is likable and notable, and they give some decent performances, especially Diaz and Cruz (reprising her role from the original film). The cinematography is really good, there's a nicely surreal and haunting atmosphere, and being a Crowe film, there's a great soundtrack to boot.
I think Cameron Crowe should really be praised for this. It was a bold step in a new direction for him, trying his hand at something he'd never done before, and, while the film is kinda messy, it's definitely a noble effort. It's odd, thought provoking, and confusing, but has some wonderful ideas, and is worth seeing at least once.
Super Reviewer
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- Sofia Serrano: What is your nickname?
- David Aames: Citizen Dildo.
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- David Aames: There is no murder. There is no murder!
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- Sofia Serrano: I'll see you in another life, when we are both cats.
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- Edmund Ventura: Even in the future, the sweet is never as sweet without the sour.
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- David Aames: Look at us. I'm frozen and you're dead, and I love you. SofÃa: It's a problem. David: I lost you ...
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- Sofia Serrano: I think she's the saddest girl to ever hold a martini.
Discussion Forum
| Topic | Last Post | Replies |
|---|---|---|
| This movie is a classic. | 12 days ago | 2 |
| What's the moral of the story | 48 days ago | 0 |
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Featured
Movie: ID: 13077 Title: Vanilla Sky Release Date: 2001-12-14 00:00:00.0 MPAA: 4 Status: 1
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