For as long as humans have had language we've told stories about our dreams; since the inception of the medium cinema has boasted films about dreams. Some play with dreams more meaningfully than others; the trope ending of "it was only a dream" is one of my greatest pet peeves, for it is rarely used as anything more than a cop-out. 'Dreamscape,' thankfully, does not fall into the latter category - though at the same time, broadly well made and enjoyable as it is, it also doesn't meet its full potential. There's a lot to like here, but not all of it comes off well, and beyond some core strengths and despite the premise it's not necessarily all that remarkable.
The detractions all somewhat blend together into a slurry with a few discrete points of concern sticking out. Foremost among these is that the dream space doesn't get as much use as you would think based on the name. One of the chief draws of movies about dreams is that the realm of fantasy allows all involved to let their imaginations run wild and create weird, wonderful, sometimes gnarly visions; consider 'A nightmare on Elm Street,' or even 'Little Nemo.' We do get touches of that whimsy here, but they are restricted almost entirely to the climax. For the most part dreams are sadly not the setting in 'Dreamscape,' but only the topic, and a slight flavoring; by and large the picture is simply a thriller. It's a thriller that's solidly made and written, yes, but frankly the dream element could have been left out from the storytelling and with minimal tinkering the result would not have been significantly altered from a form that we've seen countless times. Further taking away from the totality of what this could have been, I feel that protagonist Alex's personal life is emphasized too much, including the tiresome, obligatory romance (if a man and a woman share the screen they obviously must fall in love). To that same end, it feels wrong to say that the feature "toys" with sexual assault, but that's exactly what it does, and however one feels about the scene in question the subject is not subsequently addressed in a meaningful way. Something is amiss here, and it raises my hackles.
By all means, more than not the title is well done. I don't mind that the digital effects are less than seamless, because given the nature of the material I think that transparency works in their favor here. The practical effects, special makeup, and stunts are outstanding, even as they are employed predominantly at the climax, and the same definitely goes for the sets and lighting. The cast is excellent, with some very recognizable and reliable folks involved; I know Kate Capshaw gets a lot of shade for 'Temple of Doom,' but she gives a commendable performance in these 100 minutes. From direction and cinematography to the music and editing, everyone behind the scenes turned in fine work, and there are superb ideas in the screenplay. Be all that as it may, part of me wonders if I'm not being overly generous; its best and most original thoughts are put into a small corner, for the most part it's nothing all that special, and it's not all it might have been. I like 'Dreamscape,' and I'm glad I took the time to watch; I'm glad for those who appreciate it even more than I do. I just feel a tad disappointed that when all is said and done the flick is a fairly common thriller, like innumerable others that have been made in the 70s, 80s, 90s, and 2000s, and the premise seems a tad misleading. Do watch, and have a great time with it - just don't go out of your way for this, and save as something to watch on a lazy day.
The detractions all somewhat blend together into a slurry with a few discrete points of concern sticking out. Foremost among these is that the dream space doesn't get as much use as you would think based on the name. One of the chief draws of movies about dreams is that the realm of fantasy allows all involved to let their imaginations run wild and create weird, wonderful, sometimes gnarly visions; consider 'A nightmare on Elm Street,' or even 'Little Nemo.' We do get touches of that whimsy here, but they are restricted almost entirely to the climax. For the most part dreams are sadly not the setting in 'Dreamscape,' but only the topic, and a slight flavoring; by and large the picture is simply a thriller. It's a thriller that's solidly made and written, yes, but frankly the dream element could have been left out from the storytelling and with minimal tinkering the result would not have been significantly altered from a form that we've seen countless times. Further taking away from the totality of what this could have been, I feel that protagonist Alex's personal life is emphasized too much, including the tiresome, obligatory romance (if a man and a woman share the screen they obviously must fall in love). To that same end, it feels wrong to say that the feature "toys" with sexual assault, but that's exactly what it does, and however one feels about the scene in question the subject is not subsequently addressed in a meaningful way. Something is amiss here, and it raises my hackles.
By all means, more than not the title is well done. I don't mind that the digital effects are less than seamless, because given the nature of the material I think that transparency works in their favor here. The practical effects, special makeup, and stunts are outstanding, even as they are employed predominantly at the climax, and the same definitely goes for the sets and lighting. The cast is excellent, with some very recognizable and reliable folks involved; I know Kate Capshaw gets a lot of shade for 'Temple of Doom,' but she gives a commendable performance in these 100 minutes. From direction and cinematography to the music and editing, everyone behind the scenes turned in fine work, and there are superb ideas in the screenplay. Be all that as it may, part of me wonders if I'm not being overly generous; its best and most original thoughts are put into a small corner, for the most part it's nothing all that special, and it's not all it might have been. I like 'Dreamscape,' and I'm glad I took the time to watch; I'm glad for those who appreciate it even more than I do. I just feel a tad disappointed that when all is said and done the flick is a fairly common thriller, like innumerable others that have been made in the 70s, 80s, 90s, and 2000s, and the premise seems a tad misleading. Do watch, and have a great time with it - just don't go out of your way for this, and save as something to watch on a lazy day.