Am i the only one who thinks........Average?

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

Yes, absolutely, there is fun to be had, as well as many, many things to go boom, all amid an atmospheric urban jungle.

Strong performances, a captivating central conflict, and beautiful landscapes of Canada. Distracting plot holes take away from the experience: Pacino's character gets around Alaska as if he knows the state like the back of his hand. The ending is a dumb shoot-out. It's a disappointing conclusion for sure.

This movie is arguably one of the best murder mystery movies I have seen since "Laura" (1944), "The Silence of the Lambs" (1991), and many of Alfred Hitchcock's movies, as well as being one of the best movies that Christopher Nolan ever directed, as well as one of the police movies that I have ever seen. The movie stars Al Pacino as William Dormer a Los Angeles a detective on the force for 30 years (and couldn't sleep) whose partner is a young detective named Hap Eckhart (Martin Donovan) who are sent up to Alaska to help a local police department in a small town called Nightmute in order to solve the case of the murder of a teenage girl. As soon as Dormer and his partner arrive they meet a young police detective who happens to be a big fan of Detective Dormer's work named Ellie Burns (Hilary Swank). Dormer also happens to be a good friend of the police chief there whose last name is Nyback (Paul Dooley). As soon as they get there things start kicking up to speed, the policemen/women find the supposed killer in the fog but weren't able to get him and as a result Dormer's partner dies under strange circumstances. During that case Dormer meets a crime novelist named Walter Finch (Robin Williams) who claims that he killed the girl and that Dormer killed his partner. Pacino, Williams, and Swank really deserved Oscar nominations for their excellent work in this movie, and it is also worth noting that Pacino played an LA cop in 1995's "Heat" that was another great performance but he had to deal with another acting titan in Robert De Niro.The movie isn't the best movie that Christopher Nolan directed but it is movies like this that are the reason why I consider him to be the modern version of Alfred Hitchcock, Nolan would eventually direct great films like "Batman Begins" (2005), "The Dark Knight" (2008), "Inception" (2010), "The Dark Knight Rises" (2012), and "Interstellar" (2014) all of those films were masterpieces and this one is right up there with them. I was very impressed with this movie, especially with Hillary Seitz's screenplay that wasn't adapted from anything but man did it work. The movie was brilliantly executed, and is one of 2002's very best films.

I was having trouble getting to sleep the other night and this came up on cable, I may have missed the first couple of minutes but I think I got the gist as it went along. Al and his homicide squad partner come up from LA (where their unit is under investigation) and assist Alaskan police on a murder case in mid-summer. Al never quite adjusts to the 24 hour sunlight but that's only one of his many issues. Swank does really well as the local smart, hard-working and appreciative help. Al gives a nice textured performance, everyone sort of has shades of this or that in this movie, as things progress we learn a little more about the characters and what led to the murder. At points Al's eccentric behavior may test credibility but the story moved along well, this is a serviceable cop drama.

As said in my reviews for his masterpiece 'Memento' and the fascinating 'The Prestige', Christopher Nolan has always struck me as a very talented film-maker, and most of his films are ones that have impressed me a lot. Even weaker efforts, where his ambition can get in the way, have a good deal to admire. His films are all impeccably crafted technically, and often entertaining and thought-provoking, also knowing how to get good performances out of talented casts.'Insomnia' is not one of Nolan's best films, but not his worst. For me it's somewhere in the middle if ranking his films, 'Memento' being his best and, while with a lot of impressive elements, 'Interstellar' being the one that impressed least. It shows fidelity to the Norwegian original, but doesn't go so far that it's a pale retread, in a way that is summed up very well by Roger Ebert.Nolan directs with impeccable style and sense of atmosphere, as well as an ability to tell a potentially convoluted story with clarity without resorting to excess and over-ambition. Much of 'Insomnia' is exceptionally well made, while beautiful Alaska has rarely been more oppressive as well while the cinematography has grit and class. David Julyan's music score is not quite as complex as that for 'Memento', but has a very effective eeriness.The script is tight and thoughtful, and the story, filled with neat twists and turns, is hugely compelling and atmospheric, never being too simple but complex enough to still be understandable and be respectful to the viewer. The cat and mouse stuff could have been predictable and convoluted but executed in masterly hair-raising but also quiet tension.Performances are all strong across the board. While underused somewhat, Martin Donovan and especially Hilary Swank are great here. It is however Al Pacino and Robin Williams who are even better. Pacino gives perhaps his best performance since 'Heat' and he has to me definitely not been on this amount of blistering form as he is in 'Insomnia'. Williams is cast against type, and he plays a genuinely terrifying character with menace but also dignity and restraint.Flaws are only a couple, with the film ending too conveniently and some of the editing being a touch too jumpy.All in all, a gripping film and hardly a sleeper. 8/10 Bethany Cox