'Awake' Movie Review

                         

My wife and I rented 'Awake' , starring Jessica Alba and Hayden Christensen , off pay-oer-view last night. It was a pleasant surprise.

Christensen plays the son of a late financial wizard, and while he's more than equaled his father's efforts he still feels the weight of his father's ghost on his shoulders. He's in love with Alba, his domineering Mother's secretary, and wishes to marry her but can't even work up the nerve to let his Mother know they're dating.

He also has a damaged heart and needs a  transplant. Unfortunately when he's on the table he's one of the rare people who maintain full consciousness under anesthesia, and while under the knife he hears something, something frightening . .

Soap opera stuff, I know.

I was expecting a run of the mill popcorn thriller that would be good for some mindless fun before bed. What we got was a movie with admittedly flawed science but a stunning plot twist (and no, I don't mean the 'he's awake!" tidbit) that blew us both out of the water.

And then, near the climax, an unheard of event: Lisa predicted an event that I didn't see coming.

I liked the movie, and I'd encourage you to rent it and thumb your nose at the majority of critics out there

If my word isn't enough, Roger Ebert essentially thought the same as I did :"I went to a regular theater to see it Friday afternoon, knowing nothing about it except that the buzz was lethal, and sat there completely absorbed. ... I did not anticipate the surprises, did not anticipate them piling on after one another, got very involved in the gory surgical details, and found the supporting soap opera good as such things go"

Rent it. You'll enjoy the ride.