Good actors do not fully save the movie
593516
Very good play by main actors but the plot is flat, one-dimensional. Yet the real story was so complex.
1563657
Good acting can't make up for a weak story.  The story just didn't hold together very well, especially toward the end.  I expect when I watch a movie to have the story explained to me through the acting, was disappointed because everything that I've seen Banderas in has been good; just not thus one.  Great location and felt that the settings added to the mystique of the film.
823751
Woody Allen, known more for his comedies, tries his hand at a crime drama here. However, some parts of the movie are not as believable as they could be. For example, in this age of DNA testing where even a hair is enough to tie a criminal to a murder, how the police don't find anything that makes Wilton (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) culpable to the crime is implausible. Moreover, Wilton's decision to kill Nola (Scarlett Johansson) comes as a bit drastic and extreme to the viewer. And a drug addict killing an old woman for a just a few medications in her bathroom cabinet is improbable. The movie is sprinkled with analogies to tennis which are good, but that's not good enough to give it more than 3 stars.
1992634
It was/is a congested movie.  does not flow smoothly from scene to scene.  Actually to many subplots.  It the fault of the writers/directors, because there are just too many fine actors for this not to work better
919878
I wanted this to be a great movie, but it's not. It's important to convey that the acting is superb and the dialogue feels real and engaging, but the plot is simply too vague. Having said that, it's worth seeing the performances.
690008
There is a great cast here, nice music by Carter Burwell, and lovely production design.  The problem is the script, which suffers for the same reason that the one for The Hudsucker Proxy did:  the Coens wrote it with other people.  When the brothers work only with each other, they produce better work.  When working with a writing team, the script suffers.
4898273
The movie stars Keanu Reeves as a detective that deals with the supernatural who helps a female police officer fight against the forces of evil in order to save her twin sister's soul from the forces of evil. The story is ok but it lacks a bit of originality and some of the acting is not really that good. Keanu Reeves is miscast in his role and a better actor could have done more with it. Rachel Weisz does gives a very dark and wonderful performance that is really more complex than the film itself but the movie is more interested in special effects than to really focus on the other much better actors in the film and that's the movie's biggest mistake right there because the special effects are not that very good to begin with. Djimon Hounsou and Peter Stormare are good as well but they are reduce to a few scenes, which is a shame because both of them have more interesting characters than the main character himself.

Worth a look but don't hold your breath for anything spectacular.
4850587
Bertolucci is briliant as usual, as this film leaves plenty of mind candy to suck on. But the acting did not measure up.

The two male lead performances were uninspiring. It seemed as though Michael Pitt was reading his script from the cue cards. I found that these lame duck performances dragged this film down a notch.

The story is interesting, as an American student, studying abroad in Paris, hooks up with a brother and sister, who are movie buffs, as is he. They bond by acting out parts in movies, and passionatly arguing cinematic trivia, like Keaton vs. Chaplin. OUtside of their little world, Paris is being overtaken by revolution, and there are a million philosophical paths surrounding the revolution that this film takes. Sex is an intricate part, and is tied in well, it compliments the overall story.

Again, this is worth viewing, but, I'd rather read the screenplay, because the acting leaves much to be desired.
4064357
It was good, but not good enough. The movie began to prove its point the script was at times incoherent and the point never came across...
1702955
good actors good backview  the final actions were left out, which was mayaabe tasteful
1553725
This movie is just okay as a film but has a great underlying story that gets you thinking. What would you be willing to do for love or at least the potential/promise of love? Can a man change his character or will terrible circumstances just bring out his true personality that is too powerful to overcome? How does the introduction of a third person impact a couple's relationship - especially when they might be the only people left alive on the planet?

All of these questions are raised in the movie. Unfortunately, none of them are fully developed. Instead, we are left with halted dialogue and long glances that don't deepen our understanding of or emotional ties to the characters. Chris Pine does a decent job, though not as good as Chiwetel Ejiofor, but Margot Robbie isn't a strong enough actor to pull off being in the starring role. Also, the movie would have been better if we had seen flashbacks of each of the character's life or true personality before the catastrophe. As it is, we learn almost nothing about the characters, so the two major events in the movie that should have a big impact really don't because we just don't care that much about the people in the film.

I would have given this movie two stars if it were not for Chiwetel Ejiofor. He does his best to make something meaningful out of his role. If he had stronger co-stars, maybe he would have succeeded. As it is, the movie mostly fell flat.
2041182
Some good acting...nice scenarios...but only a fair movie.
2942564
I like the actors in the film.  The story is good, but the ending is a toss up.  It is happy for one character, and sad for another.
2349001
While the lead character may be cute, it wasn't enough to save this film.
1477297
Tom Cruise is one of the best actors of our time. In this movie he is disfigured for a large portion of it. I rate his work in this movie as one of his best, this was probably one of his most difficult roles to play and I'm still thinking about his character.
The rest of the actors, do marginally well. I love Jason Lee in Kevin Smith films, I think he has great potential, but it's sad to see him playing out the same character over and over again in every movie he does.
Ms. Cruz doesn't do all so great. With this film Mr. Crowe is attempting to do something more in the relm of the late Stanly Kubrick. The movie finally breaks out of the his signature mold. At the end, everything builds up and you know something very strange has to happen to explain everything. The way this all plays out is a little dissapointing and I felt somewhat cheated... There just aren't enough clues in the movie to support the ending. Having said that, the plot isn't bad. It doesn't have any slow parts and you're always trying to figure out what's going to happen next.
The DVD bonus material isn't worth much. The most notable thing is the promo world tour (you get to see the relationship between Tom and his new love develop, how sweet.. (yawn). You also get to listen to Cameron Crowe rave on about how great Vanilla Sky is (again.. yawn).
 This movie really is quite bad compared to the film it's trying to remake.
4887327
The movie line is not too bad but it is somewhat slow and a little implausible. For example, one shot from a six-shooter kills the bad guys dead in their tracks. They don't even take a second breath. But the good guys get shot multiple times and they keep fighting, killing bad guys as they die.  .
3276575
Some excellent scenes; but, it's a film (like the novel) that has too many holes.  Unfortunately, George C. Scott -- who was much too old for the part of Lt. Kinderman -- chose this film to over act.  I don't think he cared about this particular job.  The original film Lt. Kinderman, Lee J. Cobb, would have been a much better choice.
The supporting cast is excellent, although Jason Miller (Karas) is under-used.  Brad Dourif (Doc, in HBO's "Deadwood") is, as always, outstanding in his best role since One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.
Mr. Blatty's direction has some excellent parts, but the film bogs down and leaves too many holes in the story.
It's worth viewing for Dourif's scenes.