I now find Cruise tolerable only when he's in a movie that undercuts or ridicules his narcissism--as Eyes Wide Shut did and as this movie does even more noticeably.

| Feb 26, 2019

Vanilla Sky is nearly identical to the 1997 Spanish film it's based on, except it's set in Manhattan instead of Madrid and has a much better soundtrack.

| Oct 25, 2018

Some surface appeal, but ultimately vacant.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Dec 29, 2010

The real mystery here is why a filmmaker as talented and unique as Crowe would want to devote several years of his life to recreating someone else's movie.

| Mar 31, 2008

Vanilla Sky is one of the most challenging films of the year. It is thought provoking, mysterious, complex, nerve racking, beautiful, creepy, funny and a trip deliriously all its own.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Dec 15, 2005

A riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma. The problem is, the mystery and the enigma are in one movie, and the riddle’s in an entirely different movie.

| Original Score: D | May 9, 2002

An alienating portrait of alienation, a study of hollow lifestyles and phoney dreams that sometimes feels hollow and phoney itself.

| Feb 5, 2002

A tremendously vivid work which rewards patience and attention with a wonderful and exhilarating resonance.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Jan 21, 2002

A good example of what self-destructive cinematic havoc can be wrought by handing over millions of dollars to movie stars to produce their own ego trips.

| Dec 19, 2001

[A] spectacular film!

Full Review | Dec 18, 2001

If Crowe's eyes are open, he seems to have directed most of Vanilla Sky with his mind wide shut.

| Original Score: D+ | Dec 18, 2001

This movie has a lot of surface appeal, but at its core it is as vacant as the story's main character.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Dec 17, 2001

A film that you can take home and chew over later, both abrasive in its loudness and reflective in its fleeting, feminine moments of silence.

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Dec 16, 2001

Who would have thought that Cameron Crowe had a movie as bad as Vanilla Sky in him?

| Dec 15, 2001

For all the filmmakers' efforts, this project is something of an artistic albatross.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Dec 14, 2001

A case of the vain leading the bland.

Full Review | Original Score: 0.5/5 | Dec 14, 2001

What works in a quirky foreign film can look silly with expansive Hollywood treatment.

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | Dec 14, 2001

It's not really a bad film -- it couldn't be, given the high level of talent involved -- but it is a rather pointless one.

| Dec 14, 2001

A flawed film, but at times utterly engrossing.

Full Review | Dec 14, 2001

The film's aim -- to dazzle and inspire -- is sapped by Cruise's vein-popping, running-the-marathon performance.

| Original Score: 2/4 | Dec 14, 2001