Red Eye (Widescreen) (2005)

James Berardinelli's ReelViews 6 of 10
Red Eye belongs to the genre in which a director attempts to sustain a heightened level of suspense for long enough that the audience will not notice how incredibly stupid the screenplay is. Alfred Hitchcock was a master at this--although some of the scripts he worked with were masterpieces, one could argue that his true skill as a filmmaker was evident with those that weren't. More recently, Phone Booth and Cellular achieved success by doing as much as possible with a thin and implausible premise. Wes Craven's Red Eye is more of a mixed bag. There are stretches during the course of this 85-minute long motion picture when the director elevates the tension to an acceptable plateau, but there are also occasions when too much of the narrative seeps through and we see the seams in the storytelling. - James Berardinelli
 
Chicago Sun-Times 8 of 10
Wes Craven's Red Eye is movie that wants to be a good thriller, and moves competently, even relentlessly, toward that goal. It's helped enormously by Rachel McAdams, whose performance is convincing because she keeps it at ground level; thrillers are invitations to overact, but she remains plausible even when the action ratchets up around her. When she's stalking a terrorist with a hockey stick, she seems like a real woman stalking a real terrorist with a real hockey stick. It's not as easy as it sounds. - Roger Ebert