It was ok, not as good as his other movies tho.

A very well made movie: the progression of the plot, the rythm, the images, the music. A super note to Al Pacino's high acting. With Donnie Brasco and the Heat 'face_à_face' scene with De Niro, it's, imo, of his reallly best work here. Full of nuances, small things in the way he reacts to some lines, his intonation, ....Very impressive artist. Robin Williams offers a very convincing 'counterpart', and the dialogues between Pacino & him work totally. David Julyan's score is of great quality, following the tone of Memento. Insomnia and Memento have many links, besides (flashes, camera moves, music, the ambiguity of the 'hero', etc...) A real good work, anyway; Thank you Christopher Nolan.… Expand

An excellent director combined with amazing actors(williams and pacino in particular) and a compelling script combine to make a highly successful and thrilling film.

Despite the expected great acting from the main cast, the film seemed eternal and I found myself waiting for it to end. It is ironically the cure for it's own title.

Director Nolan, using a different style than his prior two gems, shows us the impressive range of his talents. He takes past oscar winners Pacino and Williams and draws from them very fine performances in his first studio film. An engaging story, which is slow in spots, is driven by yet another memorable "flawed hero " performance by Pacino. Williams is more than game and Hilary Swank isn't really needed but is pleasant eye candy with skills. Breathtaking cinematography completes another stellar film by Nolan. … Expand

zZzZzZzZ...indeed.

Flat and tedious You don't really care what happens to any of the characters.

A pleasant surprise. Nolan gets very good performances from Pacino, Williams, and Swank, an impressive feat in and of itself. Beautiful shots of Alaska. And for the person who wanted to know what "Dormer" means, I know that it is similar for the French verb "to sleep".

Here is a taught, intelligent, well crafted, beautifully photographed, contrived, but riveting thriller, #10 material on the metascore, but (for me) had fatal flaws. Pacino, though subdued, made me fell uncomfortable, wrestling with his morality, and his annoying insomnia. All those closeups heightened my being annoyed. Williams was miscast; his head was in his role, technically he scored, but he did not show he had the heart of a killer, the result, just not credible. Hillary Swank, the moral center of the film, was a breath of fresh air, just beautiful to watch, a fine actress. I walked out of the film feeling empty. … Expand

Actually better in retrospect than when it's happening, with a good ending. Surprisingly old-fashioned, something Humphrey Bogart and Claude Rains might have done. Both Pacino and Williams are dependably good, but Swank is the standout, imbuing a stock role with much more heart and soul than expected. Both Maura Tierney and Martin Donovan register strongly in supporting roles. One too many gimmicky quick-edit flashbacks for my taste, but otherwise a solid offering.… Expand

Great to see a small scale production do so much with superb talent instead of the annual summer-formula mega-behemoths. As a bonus, the anxiety of insomnia shows through the editing and cinematography without any digital-dependency at all.

An extremely well constructed film. The feeling of a sleep deprivition is so well captured that you will understand the film instantly. Pacino gives his best performance in years and dominates every scene. No big explosions, no special fx or hype gone made just a very solid and well crafted movie.

This film did anything but put me to sleep. The story was incredible but the thing that was most stunning was the acting. One performance in particular was really quite amazing. In all of these reviews people dont appreciate the brilliance of Williams. At first i was skeptical that about his ability to play a bad guy, becuase he so rarely plays anything but a comic. About halfway through the movie my view of Williams' whole career changed. He had proven that he can play a phsycho masterfully. Also the cinematography of this film is stunning.… Expand

The acting was outstanding, especially by Swank and Pacino. Cristopher Nolan did an incredible job of presenting the moral dilemmas real cops are faced with everyday. If your looking for a fascinating human drama with a solid script, you cannot go wrong with this movie.

Starts out like a rocket and fizzles out half way through the movie. So many holes that it would make a good advertisement for swiss cheese. Movie falls absolutely flat.

This movie was absolutely terrible. It made no sense with holes in it as big as swiss cheese. The acting was lame and totally predictable even if these are very capable actors. Overall Insomnia is an embarassment that should have been airlifted and lost in Antartica. Alaska wasn't far enough away! Avoid at all costs.

For what it is, its very good. Pacino is the best he's been in a while.

Great cast and cinematography. Pure and simple a stinkeroo! Don't waste your time.

My friend and I saw this after driving home all day from a Dave Matthews Band concert, so maybe we were already sleepwalking. But this really was a good movie, and it makes you feel everything Pacino does...even exhaustion.

It's a true thriller. A stunning script, one that holds on to you even after you leave the movie theater. Al Pacino's acting is truley like wine as it gets better over the years. His acting in this film should really be taught in drama schools. Only Robin Williams fails (at least in my mind) to make the switch from comedy to real thrillers. One of the best movies this year.

The movie does have one redeeming value. By its namesake, "Insomnia", it has found the cure. Put me to sleep in about 30 minutes. What a lame boring film.

Better than the Norwegian original! Once again Nolan packs a punch. Though it doesn't have any of the crazy backwards filming of Following or Memento, Nolan's unique way of making the viewer fatigued by following the protagonist is astonishing. Highly Recommended.

It's title is ironic, because the film does to you exactly what the title doesn't allow. Sleep.

Wow, a major Hollywood flick with A-list actors that doesn't require checking your brain at the door. Suspenseful and tense and very entertaining. Williams is perfectly cast as the weasly pervert, but Swank is far to gussied up to take seriously as a cop (or as smart, for that matter...come on, models ain't great analytic thinkers.) No reviews I've read mention the symbolism of Pacino leaving his badge behind. Many reviews I've read mention how 'ironic' it is that someone with insomnia is named 'Dormer'. WHY? What am I missing? Is dormer Spanish for 'sleep' or something? It sure isn't English for anything to do with sleeping. Dorm room, dormitory perhaps? If that's what they're alluding to then that's simply the drastic grasping-at-straws of a reviewer's mind (or cribbing from other's reviews)...not irony or symbolism.… Expand

I found it a bit more talky than expected, and parts of the movie were less than realistic.

Pretty standard Hollywood remake of a foreign flick: better-looking, with slicker editing and louder soundtrack, but hampered by truly vile dialogue and a sanitized version of the protagonist's moral conflict. The actors do their best with their horrid clunky lines, sometimes rising above the material (Pacino), sometimes sunk by it (Hilary Swank). Which makes me wonder: just how much would it cost, in the scheme of things, to hire a struggling English major to patch up a script? Robin Williams, in his much-hyped return from the abysmal roles he has chosen for the past decade or so, is still Robin Williams: he brings the same lovable-pixie quality to the unstable-murderer character as he does to all his other roles. In the chilling original, the brilliant Stellan Skarsgard plays a star detective in full moral decay, tormented by his own misdeeds, who may or may not ever pay a price. Pacino's character, on the other hand, has reasons for anything he may have done wrong, and we never fail to believe that he is a Good Guy. The one good thing about the adaptation is the absence of the sexual-repression plot from the original, in which Skarsgard's character chases all sorts of inappropriate fleshly gratification - that never would have worked in an American setting. But we still can't help wishing for a little more controversy, a little more philosophical meat on these herring bones of plot, actors, and setting.… Expand

Movie disintergrates right before your very eyes. Great cast with a lame script to work with. Don't waste your time.

One of the lamest movies I have ever seen. The plot was absolutely horrid - the acting nonexistant and the outcome/ending 100% predictable. Don't waste your time unless your on some real good crack.

"Insomnia" is a good major studio movie, which is the highest praise you can give to a Hollywood pic, since blue moons seem to be more common than Tinseltown classics these days. Like Catherine Denueve as a factory worker in "Dancer in the Dark", Hillary Swank looks very conspicuous as a cop in a small Alaskian town. She's still good, but miscast. Pacino is in fine form here, leaving the shouting to the cast of "The Practice", but it's Robin Williams, whom the movie belongs to. The audience will have no idea what's going on in his head. And finally, give credit to Christopher Nolan for not leaving his indie roots far behind. This is a real movie. … Expand

The best film of the year, so far. It's very different from the brilliant original film. Williams, Pacino, and Swank are all amazing. Nolan's directing is amazing and it's more stylish than MEMENTO. It's VERY tense.

This movie took a whole grouping of talent (minus Hillary Swank) and applied it to a poorly-written story. The characters were all too stereotypical, Williams was unable to apply a convincing role as a accidental murderer, Al Pacino was good, cinematography was very nice. Nolan needs to write his own scripts.

The writing, directing and acting were excellent. This is what I go to the movies for. I can't believe people would give this a "1."

The cast is only upstaged by the spectacular scenery of Alaska. The closing minutes of the film leave you breathless with not one carcrash in sight.

A rare instance where the remake outshines the original (consider the shameful hollywood remake of the Vanishing), this film is a mental and physical journey away from the clarity of both morality and corruption into that twilight territory where things finally, if briefly--and at the ultimate cost--come into focus. Swank and Williams are both brilliant but it's Pacino who's truly remarkable with a new twist on his worldweary persona he perfected since Scent of a Woman. It's not just about a character but also about an actor coming to terms with his limitations. … Expand

Tense, rivoting character study that will leave you exhausted, but definitely not from boredom. The cinematography was amazing--beautiful land--but the constant daylight leaves you begging that night will fall so the poor detective can go to sleep--it achieves the effect it's going for. Very strong performances; always nice to see Robin Williams crossing sides, and Al Pacino carried the movie with his usual strength. I enjoyed the convuluted script that never really focuses on the mystery of solving the murder, but rather on the dissolution of Pacino's character. Go see this movie. But not during the day. … Expand

Chris Nolan uncorked another gem with "Insomnia." The setting is perfect. It had that "Twin Peaks" pilot sort of feel, but the main crisis point of the movie is pretty damned original, and it plays out well. Definitely a satisfying flick.

I don't think Al Pacino is all that wonderful, and I personally have never been able to STAND Robin Williams. I went because I wanted to see what Hillary Swank would do (she was wonderful (AND ADORABLE)) and also I have loved Christopher Nolan since day one. But the guys really pulled it out in this one. Al was well - AL. Robin Williams surprised me because his character was really quite intriguing. But THE BEST thing of all was the story. Christopher Nolan is a great film- maker. The tone of the story definitely had an overcast quality, but more importantly the audience isn't insulted by the idea that there is only one CLEARLY bad guy, and one CLEAR good guy. We all know that is not the way it works out in life, so why do we have to be subjected to that in the theaters? Chris did not stoop there where so many others have. Kudos to you! … Expand

It's contrived but totally immersing. Insomnia now joins jet-lag as the 2 most believable devices for dumbing down characters.

Christopher Nolan knocks one out of the park again. Insomnia is everything you want in a crime thriller. He manages to cultivate and maintain an atmosphere of general dread, malice and suspense. Al Pacino is as great as we expect him to be and Robin Williams is something a bit more unexpected but completely welcomed. Filled with outstanding performances, beautiful cinematography, and terrific editing. Not to mention incredibly well written and directed, all thanks to Christopher Nolan. (With no small thanks going to the original short story written by Jonathan Nolan.)… Expand