Veteran filmmaker Wes Craven rebounded from the disappointing "Cursed" with another rare excursion outside the horror genre. "Red Eye" is a movie that offers quite a bit of fun provided nobody ever takes it that seriously. It gets a lot of juice out of the relationship between its two principals, who both do a wonderful job. The editing and the pacing are first-rate, resulting in a quick movie that clocks in at just over 85 minutes.

The adorable and gorgeous Rachel McAdams is our victimized heroine Lisa Reisert, a confident hotel manager who knows how to work with people and who does what it takes to satisfy the customer. Returning from her grandmothers' funeral, she takes an early morning flight home to Miami, and is seated alongside a young man, Jackson Rippner (Cillian Murphy) with whom she'd already got acquainted in the airport. During the flight Rippner reveals himself to be a real bad guy, working in league with terrorists attempting to assassinate a straight shooting public figure (Jack Scalia). Lisa will have to rely on her wits to get her through the situation.

McAdams is never less than convincing in the lead; she's by turns vulnerable and determined, and Murphy delivers a cool performance as the sly villain. It's the initially friendly and ultimately antagonistic give and take between them that really keeps one watching. It's when the movie starts to get more conventional towards the end, with typical chase and action scenes, that it starts to become less satisfying, but Craven still makes it good entertainment that is never dull. Good supporting performances are supplied by Brian Cox as Lisas' always concerned dad, Jayma Mays as a flustered hotel employee, and Scalia as the nice guy politician, but for a while this is more or less a two character story. Some nice shocks along the way also add to the enjoyment.

"Red Eye" is one of those movies that may not hold up to much scrutiny if you start to think about it, and may not be that memorable once it's over, but while its thrill ride is going, the audience shouldn't care about those things too much. Overall it represents a solid job by Craven and company.

Seven out of 10.

This is a thoroughly entertaining thriller. A hotel manager (Rachel McAdams) is blackmailed by an assassin (Cillian Murphy) while on an airplane trip to assist in the killing of a politician.

Wes craven directs and shows he is just at good at non gory thrillers as horror movies. The part on the airplane shows off the wonderfully expressive faces of the two stars the lovely and believable Rachel McAdams and the fascinatingly creepy Cillian Murphy with those eyes. Rachel can do any kind of movie from romance to thriller to comedy. If ever there was chemistry between villain and victim this movie has it. Their dialog is well written. The part in the house later recalls the Scream movies but is more realistic. Watch out for Jayma Mays from Glee in a supporting role.

Highly recommended.

I've seen this film so many times and it is exciting and entertaining every time. This film works so well thanks to the way the antagonist was set up. You honestly would never have guessed!

The film holds a few interesting twists and surprises. Cillian Murphy and Rachel McAdams are both excellent and believable in their roles. Just like 'Speed' the film gets even more thrilling and interesting when you think its almost over. I absolutely love this!