The Eye: Review By moviegeek

One heading quote I found when researching 'The Eye' on Movieweb was: "Jessica Alba at her best!!!" They gave the rating 4.0

I would agree, this is Jessica Alba at her best, and that's all the more depressing.

I am fascinated by ocular sciences (maybe the reason why I even chose to watch this...). But the science here is insultingly juvenile and ridiculously absurd. Jessica Alba plays a blind woman, inflicted with a disease in the cornea since the age of 5. She finally finds a donor and goes through the surgical procedure to regain her eyesight. But when she sees through her new eyes, a mysterious past from the donor herself is evident as well.

Now there is a great deal of space for the premise to move about in, but instead, the filmmakers choose a very defined and narrow vision for the idea, and lose the wonder or mystery within. The movie is empty of anything but self-pity and fear, instead of desperation and terror.

The Eye claims to be a psychological thriller, but it is nothing of the sort. In fact, I think my brain turned off while I watched this. Take the scene that rolls with the opening credits. Jessica Alba (blind for the moment) is walking down the street with a cane and the dark glasses. Isn't it odd how perfectly her hair is curled and arranged? There is another scene after the procedure where she learns what a pineapple looks like. Yet somehow, she can read words on signs.

Scary films are rarely scary, so I'm forgiving if a movie is at least tense or exciting. But The Eye doesn't even manage that. It relies on cheap, predictable scares instead of mind-bending twists. Scenes of Jessica Alba hopping out of the shower are included instead of a more emotional scene.

Now back to Ms. Alba herself. She proves here, rather definitely, that she cannot carry a film. Never for one second did I think she was surprised by anything that happens around her. Never does the tone of her voice break pitch. It's always apparent that she is trying to act, rather than be a character. All she does is widen her eyes when she is scared, and clench them shut when disturbed. I think when reading the script she took the title too literally.

I've heard from critics that logic and reasoning don't belong in a film like this. Well if that is indeed the case, neither do I.