Red Eye 2005

Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: An immensely dumb, immensely fun thriller. Read more

Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: [A] brisk, efficient B movie. Read more

Tom Keogh, Seattle Times: [Craven finds] another new way to stoke our apprehensions of being caught vulnerable and helpless. Read more

Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper: For Wes Craven, who I like a lot as a slasher director, he really goes into a different direction with this. Read more

Bob Townsend, Atlanta Journal-Constitution: A nifty thriller that plays like B-movie blast from the past. Read more

Scott Tobias, AV Club: If constructing a thriller could be likened to building a house, then Wes Craven's Red Eye is a perfect piece of architecture: It's clean-lined and soundly structured, without a foot of wasted space or any materials left unused. Read more

Bill Muller, Arizona Republic: It's encouraging that Craven cast two relative newcomers who are excited about being in the film, rather than stale stars earning a paycheck. Read more

Wesley Morris, Boston Globe: A one-trick action thriller that feels like a poor cousin of an episode of 24. Read more

Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times: Red-Eye is the work of a filmmaker in command of the full resources of the camera in telling a story visually and with economy. Read more

Bruce Westbrook, Houston Chronicle: If you can sit back, buckle up and forgive the plot holes on its runway, Craven's bumpy ride is rollicking entertainment, careening from winking humor and cutting dialogue to big action payoffs. Read more

Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post: Briskly paced, it takes less time than a flight from Denver to L.A. It may not be a classic, but it's way more satisfying than a mini-bag of pretzels and a soda. Read more

Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly: A good measure of the movie's white-knuckle fun comes from Craven's old-hand familiarity with the way thrillers tick, predicated on the smallest and most banal of missed connections, the kind that get an audience to go crazy. Read more

Philip Wuntch, Dallas Morning News: Red Eye proves once again that imaginative wrapping enhances any package's appeal. Read more

Scott Foundas, L.A. Weekly: First-time screenwriter Carl Ellsworth and director Wes Craven don't come up with a single clever way to generate suspense. Read more

Jan Stuart, Newsday: Preposterous, to be sure. And the credibility gap only widens as Jack's lethal mission nears its consummation. But by that point, Craven already has us in the palm of his hand, smooth-talking us with a finesse worthy of his dashing villain. Read more

David Denby, New Yorker: The movie turns into a complicated duel that depends on precise observation of physical detail and moment-by-moment continuity so closely calibrated that it's impossible to find a wasted shot or an exaggerated emotion. Read more

Lisa Rose, Newark Star-Ledger: A film that delivers high tension without the baggage of postmodern irony. Read more

Jami Bernard, New York Daily News: This is a sophisticated genre movie, and it's effective on many levels. Read more

Manohla Dargis, New York Times: This nifty, tense thriller directed by Wes Craven brings together a classic setup and a relevant-sounding if thoroughly undercooked story involving worldwide terrorism. Read more

Andrew Sarris, New York Observer: I'm not claiming masterpiece stature for Red Eye, just a solid professionalism in the acting, writing and direction that seems inextricably related to the modesty of its intentions. Read more

Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel: Teach this one in film schools. Maybe it could save us from all those stupid, nobody-would-do-that plot turns, flaccid formula screenwriting and thrillers that run so long they lose their thrills. Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: There are enough thrills during the final third to give Red Eye viewers a few of Craven's patented jolts near the end. But it requires forbearance for both a silly script and uneven pacing to get to that point. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: After a summer of crashes, bangs, endless chase scenes and special effects that belittle the actors standing in front of them, what a pleasure to see characters in a thriller doing what people like themselves possibly could do. Read more

Stephanie Zacharek, Salon.com: Red Eye doesn't just stick to the basics -- it reminds us why they still matter. Read more

Peter Hartlaub, San Francisco Chronicle: The movie is a pleasant surprise at the end of summer, and an exciting detour from one of the most influential directors of horror films. Read more

David Edelstein, Slate: A minimalist exercise in maximalist suspense. Read more

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune: Red Eye stretches believability to the breaking point more than once, but the story moves with such headlong speed that there's scarcely time to object. Read more

Rick Groen, Globe and Mail: Sitting through Red Eye is like watching a master carpenter at work on a custom bookcase. No one would call the result art, but you're sure bound to admire the sheer craft of the thing. Read more

Peter Howell, Toronto Star: An airborne suspense thriller that terrifies with a smile. Read more

Nigel Floyd, Time Out: The psychological mind-games are played to the hilt, the pressurised cabin air increases the edge-of-the-seat tension and the 85-minute flight time is gratifyingly short. Read more

Claudia Puig, USA Today: Once the plane touches land, things go downhill. The movie devolves into a by-the-book action flick. Read more

Robert Koehler, Variety: Red Eye relies on hoodwinking an audience with its tension, so that the sheer illogic of the conspiracy plot can slip by without detection. Read more

Dennis Lim, Village Voice: Craven's terror-alert white-knuckler is a zippy, unpretentious entry in the subgenre, hinging on the enforced proximity of cat and mouse. Read more

Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post: A movie that, like its heroine, is lithe, limber and quick-thinking. Like a triple latte from the airport Starbucks, Red Eye will keep you awake, jittery and perched on the edge of your seat for pretty much the entire flight. Read more

Stephen Hunter, Washington Post: Fast and furious and tightly focused and blessedly short at 85 minutes, it recalls not so much today's bloated, computer-crazed films, but tighter melodramas of the '50s. Read more