| 75 |
Chicago Sun-Times
A surprisingly effective thriller.
|
| 60 |
Washington Post
Awake is a pleasing if negligible diversion.
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| 58 |
Entertainment Weekly
Gregory Kirschling
Too bad, because until it essentially turns into a medical-thriller version of "Look Who's Talking," the movie hums along comfortably enough as slick B fare.
|
| 50 |
Premiere
Ryan Stewart
You won't see the twist coming, thanks to a clever and precise piece of casting, but that's the best compliment that can be paid to Awake, a plotty and unfocused medical thriller.
|
| 50 |
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
With a couple of more drafts to mend the plot holes and restructure the middle act, Awake could have been saved.
|
| 50 |
The Hollywood Reporter
Christensen delivers a low-key performance that is ultimately quite appealing, and he's well matched by the beautiful Alba. Olin brings unexpected depths to what could have been a stock role, and Terrence Howard uses his easy ability to project innate decency to excellent effect.
|
| 50 |
ReelViews
Awake is short enough (about 85 minutes) that it doesn't wear out its welcome. It's not a good movie but it's silly and lively enough to keep most viewers from dozing off, even if that might be a more profitable use of their time.
|
| 40 |
Variety
Harold's thriller does have an attention-getting plot hook, but piles on too many narrative gimmicks to maintain suspense or credibility.
|
| 40 |
Los Angeles Times
Trashily in-your-face thriller, which leans heavily for its effects on intense sympathy pain, improbable reversals and the mystifying star appeal of Jessica Alba.
|
| 38 |
TV Guide
What a waste. Check out "Breakdown" or Aldo Lado's 1971 Italian giallo "Long Night Of The Short Dolls" for a far better treatments of the same subject.
|
| 33 |
The Onion (A.V. Club)
Only the so-bad-it's-good crowd need apply.
|
| 30 |
LA Weekly
Jim Ridley
Harold’s glum overplotting squashes the sick humor and the innate fear of hospitals that gives the premise what kick it has; not even Craig McKay’s clever editing can defibrillate the preposterous ending.
|
| 30 |
Austin Chronicle
With a running time of 78 minutes, Awake is relatively painless, playing a little like a lesser story from one of EC Comics Shock SuspenStories – or a lot like Joseph Cotten's "Breakdown" episode of Alfred Hitchock Presents – updated for the Fangoria generation.
|
| 30 |
The New York Times
The writer and director, Joby Harold, claims to have been inspired to write the film while suffering from a particularly painful kidney stone. Watching it may be for some a comparable experience.
|
| 25 |
Boston Globe
The movie tries going for a laugh or two. It even makes stabs at irony. But since none of the story is suspenseful, remotely believable, or, at the very least, cheaply entertaining, who cares?
|
| 10 |
Film Threat
This is a movie that should have a medical warning in its trailer. Caution: viewing may be hazardous to your filmgoing fun; side effects can include drowsiness, irritation and difficulty swallowing.
|
| 0 |
New York Daily News
Possibly the worst movie of 2007.
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