The Tom Cruise And Kurt Russell Cult Remake You Can Stream Right Now
Tom Cruise and Kurt Russell star in Vanilla Sky, a mind-bending thriller that is available to stream on Amazon Prime and Paramount+.
This article is more than 2 years old
Tom Cruise and Kurt Russell were already beloved stars in the Hollywood sphere, but they earned a few more followers after their movie Vanilla Sky hit theaters in 2001. A remake of the Spanish film Open Your Eyes, Vanilla Sky was a mind-boggling thrill ride that took on pop culture and the consequences of “hook-up culture” before anyone was really discussing it. Now, the flick is available to stream on Amazon Prime and Paramount+.
This science fiction thriller seemingly had it all. There were humorous moments and terrifying revelations, all surrounding the odd concept of cryogenics. Tom Cruise and Kurt Russell offer a strange dynamic, Cruise playing a selfish well-to-do man who casually plays with a woman’s heart and Russell embodying the role of his psychiatrist.
The premise had a unique storytelling feel in contrast to other mainstream movies of the time. That is due to the initial formatting which sets the entire film up as being told to Russell’s character after the main character goes to jail and cannot determine reality from his dreams or nightmares. It seemed like a tall order for both Tom Cruise and Kurt Russell at the time.
In addition, the film left audiences asking questions well after the credits rolled. It paved the way for movies like Interstellar, which fused the subconscious with reality to such a degree that deciphering what actually happened and working out a substantial timeline was difficult. It was a mind-bender unlike any other that either turned audiences off from Tom Cruise & Kurt Russell or interested them in these actors’ abilities.
According to starbiz.com, the film’s $68 million budget included one of the most expensive scenes in movie history. It took a whopping $1 million just to film the iconic moment where the main character is alone in Times Square. That scene only amounted to about 30 seconds of screen time, but it solidified the eeriness surrounding the story, upped the stakes, and gave Tom Cruise and Kurt Russell more emotion to work with.
The movie highly intrigued audiences and got people talking. There was also plenty of drama involved behind the scenes. While Tom Cruise and Kurt Russell seemed to have good chemistry, Cruise and Nicole Kidman’s marriage was in trouble and became a central focus of celebrity reporting at that time.
It was speculated that Cruise had an affair with co-star Penelope Cruz during the making of Vanilla Sky. This only added to the massive publicity that Tom Cruise and Kurt Russell gained once the film was released. People Magazine and ABC News reported on Kidman’s alleged frustrations with the situation and she supposedly admitted to a friend that her husband lied to her about his relationship with his co-star.
Whether this was true or not, Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise split up and eventually divorced the same year Vanilla Sky was released in theaters. Meanwhile, through this period of transition, Cruise did start publicly dating Penelope Cruz and the media went wild, drawing out even more talk about the movie. Although tabloids focused on the scandal, the box office numbers were a hit and stars Tom Cruise and Kurt Russell remained focused on promoting the movie instead of furthering any gossip.
While Vanilla Sky did pull in $200 million worldwide, it also received such mixed reviews that people generally loved it or hated it. Critical reviews ranged from great praise to notes that questioned Tom Cruise and Kurt Russell’s success.
Because of this mixed appraisal and the movie’s mind-bending qualities, Vanilla Sky has earned a cult following throughout the years. Audiences who love the movie have been faithful to it for years, while those who hate it were happy to move on. Despite the split response, Tom Cruise and Kurt Russell are both still big names in Hollywood.
Although the movie did not hit all the right notes in terms of critical success, the film has held its own with its followers and they can now view it through two streaming services. Whether watching on Paramount+ or through Amazon, the Tom Cruise and Kurt Russell psychological head-scratcher will continue to find new audiences. It’s all thanks to the continued support from loyal fans who continue to praise the strange movie for its oddities and thrills alike.
Just how long this film will remain on these streaming services is unknown. Paramount+ has already experienced some difficulty delivering certain cult-following material like the Star Trek movies, but for now, fans of Vanilla Sky can look forward to reliving all the twists in the decades-old movie. This is set to also give new audiences a chance to see Tom Cruise and Kurt Russell in two of their most in-depth roles.
