Awake

A good premise buried by a run-of-the-mill directorial approach and a shabby script that delivers every twist a moment after it can be predicted. The way it squanders its potential pissed me off, really. And on top of that, and let’s be honest, the actors aren’t that great, so, instead of living characters, you only get chess pieces that the screenwriter moves according to a previously drawn plan (which, as I’ve already mentioned, is not that hard to predict). As a result, Awake is a modern sterile thriller without a hint of atmosphere that at times shows great potential. The creativity began and ended on one point: the initial premise. Had it been longer, the rating would be lower. (01/10/2013)

A film shot in a captivating way, with intimacy and impassioned romance that perfectly harmonize with an excellently crafted screenplay and an original idea that I may not have seen in the world of cinema before. For the first time in her life, Jessica Alba is not just an ornament, and Hayden Christensen is not a laughing stock. This fact alone is so rare that it is impossible to watch the film without enthusiasm. Add excellent supporting roles and a minute-by-minute brutal and uncompromising attack on emotions, and both Hayden and the viewer cannot help but be amazed at how everything eventually turns out. The final transformation is hardly believable, but conceptually entirely acceptable. An original and disarming film, in an intimate and heartfelt way. (11/28/2008)

I have read a few comments here and they all mostly agree on the fact that the topic of the movie was not bad at all. If only it was made by someone with little more experience who can turn a good topic into a great thriller. The acting was ok but I kind of missed a bit more of the drama. The end is way over the top, but the story was made to shock and it actually succeeded in doing so. Although I still can’t shake off the feeling that this was just an average job. (02/11/2019)

After Derailed, this is another clever premise botched by a not so clever director. Weinsteins once again tried to skimp on the director and thought that in order to have a big hit, they just needed an interesting screenplay and good cast. And once again they ended up with something between a box office bomb and a direct-to-DVD release. Awake has a unique atmosphere, which is nice, and we have seen Hayden Christensen in worse roles, but the “dramatic twists” that are supposed to turn the plot upside down are just as awkward as in Derailed, and what’s worse, they are sometimes predictable. The fewer dime-a-dozen American thrillers you’ve seen and the more beer you drink before watching Awake, the fewer problems you will have with that. (05/05/2008)

If we were to operate on the basis of FilmBooster genre labels, this movie would be more of a romance/drama/mystery/thriller. Whereas for the first half hour it sticks only to the first two boxes. Then comes mystery, and not long after that we have thriller. This development is Awake's greatest domain, because thanks to it we find ourselves several times running out of ideas on how the plot could continue and taking it practically from scratch. Personally, I was very pleasantly surprised by the two plot shifts, to the point where I almost forgot who was playing the main role, a fact that had worried me quite a bit at the beginning of the film. High praise indeed for the script. (03/08/2011)