Man this is so hard for me to rate/review. It's Chris Nolan directing a mystery crime thriller starring Al Pacino as a detective and Robin Williams as the villain in a cat and mouse chase. It ticks all the boxes. But what kind of let me down here is the fact that Nolan was merely just a hired gun. There was no much of writing freedom considering it's also a remake right after Memento. So comparatively to Memento this was a huge step down. Still there's plenty to appreciate here, Pacino nails it, Williams surprised me with his villain portrayal. The characters were well written except maybe Hillary's character who was just there for the plot and didn't have any impact as a standalone character. I absolutely loved the premise and the mystery surrounding it. I was hooked from the first act and never got out of my seat. However, this is still a weak project from Nolan, especially when he had the capacity of writing stuff like Memento at his early stages as a director. Overall it's still a solid experience and I'd definitely recommend anyone this movie if they want to get into Nolan movies.

After the success of _Memento_, Nolan got scooped up by a major studio and made a more conventional film as his next project. It starts out like a typical police procedural, however at the end of the first act it quickly turns into a more unique premise. It feels like a David Fincher film, and I think this could’ve been great if he had directed it. With Nolan at the helm the results are slightly less exciting, because the script doesn’t entirely play to his strengths. It’s not that the movie ever looks bad, it’s lit and shot like a real film and the location (which gives it a Scandinavian thriller feel) helps out a lot. However, this is the type of script that demands more style and atmosphere, the filmmaking here is simply too plain. I know that Nolan typically doesn’t engage in David Lynch-esque surrealism, but when you have a protagonist suffering from insomnia, you’re allowed to go crazier than what this ends up doing. It’s weird because _Memento_ was directed with such a strong vision, this almost feels like a step back. Maybe he decided to water it down just a little bit due to it being made for a big studio. Nevertheless, this is still a fantastic screenplay (could’ve done without the ‘I secretly recorded our conversation’ trope) with some outstanding acting from Pacino and Williams. It’s tense, engaging, smart; again, it does exactly what it needs to do, but it doesn’t entirely reach its full potential. 7/10

A pre-Batman Nolan movie, but how did I miss that one back then ? Pacino, like always, is absolutely convincing. I've never seen a bad performance from him. Yes, he has a certain type attached to him but he still is one of the best actors around. Equally well did Robin Williams and it is a pleasure to see both of these actors together. And, althought having a smaller role, good job by Hilary Swank. With those actors you seldom do wrong. Script was really great, exactly what I am looking for in a thriller. A timeless movie you can watch anytime.

Al Pacino and Robin Williams. Masters

Probably Nolan's weakest film but that's saying a lot since this is really good. Also was possibly Robin Williams' best role before unfortunately some duds before his death. Nolan however is better when he's not remaking a film. The original Insomnia is also supposed to be pretty damn good.