The Bottom Line:

Though it begins inventively and features a creepy Cillian Murphy, Red Eye quickly degrades into just about the most formulaic thriller you can imagine; look elsewhere if you want a movie that has something of interest beyond a laughably bad final shot.

The plot leads one to think that McAdams as Lisa can't handle the pressure or control the situation brought upon by the smooth-talking terrorist Jack Rippner (played by Cillian Murphy). You get the feeling she's going to be one of those hysterical female types, intimidated by a terrorist. Rippner uses both mental and physical abuse during the flight back home, to get Lisa to switch hotel rooms of the Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security (using her Management Power and Authority) so that his cohorts get a good target to hit. Brian Cox plays Lisa's Dad, who is the unsuspecting hostage that will be killed unless Lisa complies to Rippner's demands.

Ah.. but, Lisa ends up kicking butt. She first performs an unscheduled "trachaeotomy" on Rippner with a pen (i.e. stabs him in the throat), and then escapes just as the plane lands. She then proceeds to steal an SUV from the "Departing Flights" drop-off area and uses it to smash into and send the would-be assassin of her Dad through the front doors of the house. And finally, as Rippner catches up to her at the house; takes him for a tour of the house (a la hide-and-seek) before she and daddy put a couple of holes in him.

Jayma Mays plays Cynthia, Lisa's co-worker and front desk agent at the hotel. She lacks confidence, is not very well organized and space-out to a point of being annoying. But she, like Lisa is able to "keep cool" when the chips are down, and ends up being a life-saver in the end. She really turns out to be quite cute with her lines. Especially her ending line in the movie. SURPRISINGLY GOOD MOVIE.

I didn't know what this movie was all about befroe I watched it. I thought it was a supernatural thriller of some sort. I was actually intrigued when the plot started unfolding, I was thinking wow what an original concept. I will admit the story was original and fresh, the acting was fantastic. I think Cillian Murpghy is one of a kind. His look is so unusual and androgenous, he is hot isn't he? Once the plane landed and she stuck him with the pen, the movie started to take another direction of textbook run and chase, good guy vs. bad guy. You could pretty much write the ending yourself. Heroin saves the day and everyone goes home happy. I would have liked one more twist in the plot at the end, to give the movie and edge over your standard thriller.

This is a really good psychological thriller. I was surprised that there was not any gore, which I don't care for anyway. There were lapses in the action, but this just left time to wonder what would happen next. The actors were very believable, and the chemistry between the two main actors was intriguing. The main character's secret was a good back story; however, some of the villains' motivations were not very well explained. It had a very American feel though, with the underdog fighting back and ultimately winning at the end of the movie. It was not a scary movie, but a mess-with-your-mind movie. Very nice!

While it's not the edge of your seat thriller, I really enjoy how it all comes together at the end.