Movie Review: Awake - Page 3

I wanted to like Awake, but it did have a lot of questions surrounding it. Following the Star Wars prequels, Hayden Christensen has not been a brightly burning Hollywood star, more known for wooden performances than anything else. Jessica Alba is a gorgeous young actress who has not shown considerable acting ability. Then there is writer/director Joby Harold making his big screen debut without any other credits to his name. It is a perfect storm swirling around the calm eye that contains the high concept, upon which all hinged. While the concept was there, and Lena Olin raised the overall quality, there is no denying that the closer we got to the finish, the more the plot began to crumble.

The brief 78 minute runtime is filled with pacing issues, too slow on the build-up and too fast as it steams towards its resolution. I get the feeling that there was a lot of footage  left on the editing room floor, which furthers the idea that there will be some sort of unrated or extended cut come the DVD release.

Bottom line. No, I cannot recommend this movie, but I can recommend that you give it a shot when it arrives on DVD (which I would expect to be fairly soon), for Lena Olin's performance if nothing else. I still find the base concept to be frightening, the problem is the window dressing used to make it palatable as a thriller. It is a half-baked script that could have used a bit more development.

Not Recommended.

Article Author: Chris Beaumont

Christopher Beaumont spends much of his time writing about music and movies when he isn't indulging in them. He is always ready to talk about his favorite form of entertainment and offer up recommendations. Follow: Twitter and Tumblr. Visit: Critical Outcast. …

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