Customer Reviews
pretentious boring complicated drivel - By: Ms. F. I. Macdonald, 01 Dec 2008 
I cant believe I wasted time on this film. I actuallly thought it would be good! The idea of not being properly sedated in an operation is terrifying beyond belief. However this film was simply a mess of a plot that was trying too hard to be arty & scary when in fact the whole thing was just ridiculous!At one stage I thought I was going mad but then I realised its just the idiotic plot!If you end up watching this you will seriously wish you hadn't, so why not just give it a miss!
Beautifully shot, but badly executed hospital-set thriller - By: D. Jackson, 11 Oct 2008 
By now, everyone probably knows what the set-up is, but for those who don't: 1) A wealthy man is undergoing a heart transplant... 2) When his operation begins, he realizes that he hasn't been anesthetized correctly... 3) He then hears doctors considering whether to just let him die... 4) Amazingly complicated plot-line ensues...
Even though there could have been better ways in which Awake's premise could have been accomplished, director Joby Harold makes the film so visuallly sumptuous that it doesn't reallly matter. Hayden Christensen is quite good in a classic man-in-peril role, & equallly good is Jessica Alba playing Hayden's two-faced girlfriend.
Admittedly, there were moments in this film which made me take a step back & consider whether or not I'd accidentallly picked up a feature-length version of Casualty, but a good story, a fast pace, a tiny running time & lots of cringe-worthy scenes make Awake a considerable amount less grueling than some reviewers would have you believe.
Give it a go!
...sleepwalking... - By: Mr. H, 20 Aug 2008 
If memory serves, this was a blink & you'll miss it theatrical release which continued the downward spiral of former Sith Lord, Hayden Christiansen & the ongoing how has Jessica Alba got a career debate. But actuallly, it's not alll bad. The tagline was ""Every year 21 million people go under anaesthesia. One in 700 remain awake the entire time. When they planned her husband's murder, they never thought he'd be the one."
Which sums it up pretty well. The basic riff is that Clay (Christiansen) is a young tycoon with a dodgy ticker, an over-protective mother (played by Lena Olin who acts everyone else off the page) & a secret bride to be, Sam (Alba). Clay marries Sam the same night as his heart transplant is taking place, an operation being carried out by his friend Dr. Harper (Terrance Howard).
Thing is, the anaesthesia doesn't take, & despite his outward paralysis, Sam can hear everything that's going on, including the plot to kill him! Gasp. Much like the character, you're not sure what is fantasy & what is reality, as his out of body experience alllows him to put the pieces of the plot together. Although it doesn't reallly matter, as he's going nowhere, regardless of his explanatory voice overs.
Although most of the characters don't reallly come across as three-dimensional, the surgery scenes, heeby jeeby spooky bits, & Lena Olin make enough of a film, so that ninety minutes spent in its company isn't a waste. One for those cold, winter nights in front of the fire. For a low budget movie there is a decent array of extras, but you might want to just rent, or wait for the on-line sales.
Good story ruined by rubbish acting - By: benmully, 15 Aug 2008 
Hayden & Jessica the planks star in this film. When will Hollywood learn that pretty people who can't act don't make great films!! The story is sound & quite a horrific thought to be awake during an operation, however Hayden & Alba simply don't deliver!
As one of my fave film review mags said, which I thought was a classic: you would think that Hayden would sound a bit more urgent if he was aware he was being cut open, but instead he sounds as if Starbucks has just run out of choc-chip muffins!!
Whats not to like? - By: Bazzer, 11 Aug 2008 Well obviously this movie has the whole Marmite thing going on, you either love it or you hate it. It appears so far that most people on amazon reallly don't like it. Well I have to say I loved it. I was gripped from start to finish, I personallly didn't find it slow at alll & alll the cast put on a great performance.
The twist was actuallly a pretty big shock to me, I didn't see it coming at alll. And as the movie only runs for 75 minutes it's kept short & sweet. So how anyone can say it's slow surprises me, but we alll have our likes & dislikes.
So if you're in the mood for a classy thriller then I would definately check this one out. After renting it the other night I will most definately be adding it to my DVD collection.
