Vanilla SkyMovie Reviews

Poster art for "Vanilla Sky."

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So-so
Avg. Critic Score: 45 out of 100 Mixed or average reviews Metascore® based on all critic reviews
Information for Parents:
16 Iffy for 16+
Read Common Sense Media review

Critic scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

  • 80
    The New York Times | Stephen Holden

    Highly entertaining, erotic science-fiction thriller that takes Mr. Crowe into Steven Spielberg territory. Read full review

  • 75
    Chicago Sun-Times | Roger Ebert

    This is the kind of movie you don't want to analyze until you've seen it two times. Now that I've seen it twice, I think I understand it, or maybe not. Certainly it's entertaining as it rolls along. Read full review

  • 70
    Rolling Stone | Peter Travers

    Crowe's tantalizing film sticks with you. Read full review

  • 70
    Variety | Todd McCarthy

    The picture has vitality, a fine cast and excellent craft Read full review

  • 63
    USA Today | Mike Clark

    What works in a quirky foreign film can look silly with expansive Hollywood treatment. Crowe is smart enough to know this, so it's baffling he chose Vanilla over richer cinematic tastes. Read full review

  • 50
    San Francisco Chronicle | Edward Guthmann

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

  • 50
    Los Angeles Times | Kenneth Turan

    Though Vanilla Sky is smoothly and professionally done, even audiences who haven't seen the original will sense there is something off in the translation. Read full review

  • 40
    Washington Post | Desson Thomson

    For all the filmmakers' efforts, this project is something of an artistic albatross. It's a conundrum that doesn't get answered until a sort of help-the-audience Cliffs Notes final scene, in which we learn Everything. But by then, more than a few of us may be wondering, was it all really worth the trouble? Read full review

  • 33
    Entertainment Weekly | Owen Gleiberman

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

  • 10
    Washington Post | Stephen Hunter

    Overblown and idiotic, this new "erotic thriller" is neither erotic nor thrilling; it's long, boring and self-indulgent. Read full review


Information for Parents
Common Sense Media says Iffy for 16+ Some surface appeal, but ultimately vacant.
What Parents Need to Know Parents need to know that this movie has very strong language and explicit sexual situations and references. One character smothers another, and a different character kills herself and is unsuccessful at killing her lover. The facial disfigurement is graphically portrayed and may be very upsetting to some viewers.
  • Families can talk about why David feels unsatisfied at the beginning of the movie, and whether he should have made a pass at the woman his best friend brought to a party. How much of the world around us do we control? How much would you like to control? If given the choice presented to David at the end of the movie, what would you choose?
The good stuff
  • message true0 Positive messages: Character uses women.
What to watch for
  • violence false3 Violence: Characters killed, tense scenes of peril.
  • sex false4 Sex: Very explicit sexual situations and references.
  • language false4 Language: Very strong language.
  • consumerism false0 Consumerism: Not an issue
  • drugsalcoholtobacco false3 Drinking, drugs and smoking: Characters drink, get drunk.

Vanilla Sky Movie Ratings + Reviews

Fans say

So-so 61 fan reviews

Critics say

So-so See all critic reviews

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