'You ACTIN' HARD, but I KNOW YOU SOFT' I love RED FLAGS! A little bit of craziness NEVER HURTS (RED EYE, 2005)

It definitely wasn’t the first movie I saw with Cillian Murphy (obviously, he stayed on my radar after that “I can look cute but also terrifying” face), 'cause I first saw him in 28 Days Later, but it was my debut with the gorgeous Rachael McAdams…the woman you are, Rachael! Meow!! ;)

Let’s travel back to 2005…I was six years old, or something like that, and obviously, I didn’t see it in the cinema 'cause I wasn’t gonna convince my parents to spend money on a ticket for a film that clearly wasn’t for kids.

Where did I see it? On a pirate CD, of course! I mean, it was 2005, who didn’t have a pile of illegal discs with subtitles in 27 weird languages? This one had a German dub (yep, German) and subtitles in more languages than I can count on my fingers, but it looked fine, so we didn’t complain. Though, realistically, I didn’t understand much ‘cause my reading speed was still in nappies. But hey, I enjoyed it, and so did my folks. Of course, years later, I found it on a movie channel (now in its original language), and it felt like seein’ it for the first time, but I could understand and enjoy the film much more!

Read this and try not to laugh too much pleaseeeee: A super efficient receptionist at one of the poshest hotels (think like 5 star luxury) hops on a plane to visit her dad. So far, all normal, right? Well, no. 'Cause Jack The Ripper shows up, sorry, Jackson Rippner, aka “the guy who’s always everywhere.” Literally, she runs into him at every corner of the airport, and surprise, ends up sitting next to him on the plane. Now, this seems like destiny, like they’ll end up falling in love in some silly romance movie, but no: he’s an assassin (Terrorist) with a plan even MacGyver couldn’t have come up with better!

The guy basically threatens her to help facilitate the assassination of a super important politician who’s gonna stay at her hotel that very night, using her phone while mid flight. And by “facilitate,” I mean she’s gotta make sure the politician and his family are given the perfect room to be eliminated... by a missile! Yep, you read that right! A missile. From the sea. It’s like if Michael Bay got his hands on the script for five minutes, or did he?

Silly? Not at all! ‘Cause I love it. You might be wondering, “Doesn’t that plot sound a bit ridiculous?” Well, yeah, but it’s ridiculously entertaining. Seriously when I told my friends about it, who clearly hadn’t seen it, they looked at me like I was mad. They’d say stuff like; ‘An assassin, a plane, a hotel, and a missile? Whit are ye on aboot?’ But if you give it a chance, it truly doesn’t disappoint.

Cillian’s spot on as the perfect villain, always charming, disturbing, with a gaze that makes you question your life choices. And Rachael… well, Rachael steals the show as the unexpected heroine. She decides not to be the typical damsel in distress. She uses her wit, her guts, and at one point, where I almost fainted from the nerves, she stabs him with a pen, I think, in the neck, and I don’t know what he’s got, but it barely seemed to hurt him, ‘cause he just walked off looking for more revenge.

Wes Craven always nails the tension, like in Scream. The whole thing happens in 85 minutes, and it feels like the plane is a battlefield where every second counts, but they have to do everything in silence. The climax doesn’t let you breathe, and just when you think it’s all been resolved, bam! Another unexpected twist.

I didn’t want to say it, but I have to: I’ve always liked “shipping” these two characters. Yep, I said it. I liked that “tension” they had.

It was a power play, and he was always on top of her, not for the best reasons. Always pressing his body against hers; and his eyes, staring at her, studying her, looking to break her into pieces and then make her his personal toy.

First, he acted like a good guy, defending her from some bloke trying to shout at her while they were in line at the airport. He spoke to her so fluently, like he’d known her for years, and maybe he had in some way, but also with a shyness only he could pull off. He was the perfect character to fool her. To fool us too. I wouldn’t have believed a guy like him could be so bad. But appearances deceive.

I’m not the only one who’s crazy, ‘cause plenty of folks find this fictional relationship pretty attractive. I’ve read a lot of fanfiction about them, so you might find me commenting around, haha.

Then on Twitter, I made friends with people who also liked the ship, but later it all seemed a bit sick... Not recommended to talk about it on Twitter, sorry, X.

Honestly it might not be a cinematic masterpiece, but it’s a gem of 2000s thrillers. If you like tension that keeps you on the edge of your seat, solid performances, and a script that doesn’t take itself too seriously, I’d recommend it with my eyes closed. And if you ever watch it with a German dub and weird subtitles… well, now you know how my story with this movie began. Don’t say I didn’t warn you!

I listened to 'Fetish' by Selena Gomez for half an hour while I wrote this, and mate... the lyrics are what I imagine when I watch the film ;;)