The idea of waking up under the surgical knife is a horror indeed. So why rob such a premise of its core appeal just so that you can make a been-there-done-that mystery thriller? Because you are American!!! In any other country this would have made deeply compelling stuff. Heck, as an independent film this film would have been made because those making it would have had something to say. If all Awake did was parade the lead characters life before him as he was forced to watch and listen it could have been a real triumph. It could have been a horrifically disturbing horror film, an insightful comment on the state of American medicine, instead we get a half baked plot involving the patients adulterous wife, a possibly complicitus doctor and a film with noirish pretensions that might have been realized if the filmmakers weren’t so solidly focused on making a tired medical thriller.
Jessica Alba isn’t completely incapable of acting. But she’s called in here to window dress the bare plot the same way she was in The Eye and the end result is easy on the eyes and even easier on the brain. This is barebones genre cotton candy that you’ve seen too much of already if you are the average movie goer much less a lover of great suspense thrillers. The extras here don’t soften the blow this will make on your wallet but the hilarious blooper real at least provides some irony to help you deal with buyers (or viewers) remorse. Go get the far superior medical thriller Sublime for better performances, a better script and much, much better plotting.