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At First Sight

At First Sight

List Price: $14.95
Your Price: $13.46
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Heart touching, eye opening!
Review: I am a fan of both actors but especially Mira Sorvino as of late. The two have a great chemistry in this movie and it was done so well that I was drawn in emotionally as well. Of course, this speaks of the romantic side of the movie. I found the observations of Virgil to be most insightful, especially about how most of us who have sight take it for granted. Such as an apple, we instantly see it and say that's an apple, but what about someone who's never seen one before? The tension between Sorvino and Kilmer was also done remarkably well! I would say worth every cent! Bravo to the actors and crew who made this movie possible!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: What's real about yourself
Review: Superbly acted by Kilmer ("Real Genius" et al.), Sorvino, and McGillis, the principle detraction is the sometimes slow-moving drama which derives from the nature of the story itself. Almost worth seeing just for Virgil's observations at the end: "It wasn't that seeing was so bad- I saw a lot of things. Some were really beautiful; others were scary. Some things I'm already forgetting- a particular look in a pair of eyes... clouds... those images will stay with me long after the light fades. As a blind man, I think that I see better than I did while I was sighted. Because I don't really think we see with our eyes. I think we live in darkness when we don't look at what's real about ourselves, about others, or about life. I think no operation can do that. And when you see what's real about yourself, you've seen alot, and you don't need eyes for that."

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Not good
Review: I normally like Val Kilmer, but this movie stunk, big time! The only interesting part is the concept dealing with a man who has been blind all his life and how he cannot understand things like shadow, depth perception, reflections, etc. The romantic interlude with Mira Sorvino just doesn't work. Don't waste your money! Even if it's a rental.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: dumb dumb dumb
Review: This is the dumbest movie I ever saw. If anyone wants a lesson on making a dumb film, watch this one. I thought Mills & Boon turned out trashy romances, but this film makes all those romances seem brilliant. I cannot imagine what made Kilmer and Sovarino decide to act in this extremely unfeeling film. Didn't they read the script before agreeing to act in it? It is a film that appears to have been made by completely unfeeling robots - everything about it: the script, the direction, the editing. I watched it a few hours after watching the Jessica Tandy-Kathy Bates starrer "Fried Green Tomatoes" where every frame was full of depth, meaning, feeling, brilliance. I have never been so disappointed as I have watching "At First Sight". A completely unconvincing meeting together of the main characters, Val Kilmer acts the part very clumsily and keeps grinning right through like he had his mouth split open with a baseball bat. And Mira Sovarino, the less said the better. Pathetic. I want my money back. Even the dumb Indian films I read about must have their redeeming moments compared to "At First Sight". Disgusting.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Fascinating Story...but not written to the screen very well
Review: Featuring Van Kilmer, Mira Sorvino & Nathan Lane ("The Birdcage").  The movie is based on a true story, though it is not very clear at the beginning of the movie.  While the story itself is fascinating, the writing and flow of the film is poor.  It moves way too fast, even at 126 minutes.  Virgil Adamson (Kilmer) plays a blind masseur who meets architect Amy Benic (Sorvino).  The too quickly fall in love.  Benic soon finds an experimental surgery to restore Adamson's sight.  The specialist doctor is played by Bruce Davison ("Longtime Companion").  With his sight restored, Adamson must now adjust to life with sight, something he never knew having lost it at the age of 3.  Nathan Lane plays a sight therapist enlisted to aide Adamson in learning how to function in a world with sight.  We recommend the movie for those who may have enjoyed "Awakenings" with Robin Williams.  Again, the writing is not of the same calibur, but the story line is most interesting.  The ending is bitter-sweet.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Ok movie but it is more of a romance then a drama.
Review: This is a ok movie if you have wanted to see this movie then I say see it. But this is not a movie that you rush out to see. I say you can wait till it comes on tv.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Nice story, good execution, way too long.
Review: While this movie is full of the little things needed to create a well-crafted romantic movie, and the actors are stupendous and play their parts to the fullest, the plot is just too long to sustain any understanding of the storyline. The movie starts out nicely at a good pace, with Kilmer and Sorvino falling in love at a mountain retreat. The romance looks as though it will make it through anything, until Sorvino introduces the idea of seeing again to Kilmer. This is the point at which the movie takes a long, droning turn, as Kilmer moves to New York with his new love to regain his sight. The plot jumps back and forth between the emotions of the lovers, which may confuse people with smaller brain capacities. There are too many break-ups and make-ups between the two leads, and while this movie is based on an actual story, there could've been one or two of these instances left out to sustain a steady flow. This movie is a good one, don't get me wrong, but the extended length of it makes for a bit of unpleasantness when watching it. My recommendation: rent it before buying it, so you know what you're in for.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Artistic Myopia Prevails in Disappointing Drama
Review: Irwin Winkler's AT FIRST SIGHT, ostensibly based upon a true story, begins promisingly as an affecting romance that soon takes a turn into sappy Hollywood "feel good" territory, which is a shame considering the caliber of the performances and the man in the director's seat. Mira Sorvino is quite wonderful as a woman who falls in love with a blind masseur, played with commendable plausibility by Val Kilmer. Kilmer has been blind since the age of one, and reluctantly agrees to undergo an operation at Sorvino's suggestion that may restore his sight. The big question is, will their romance weather the emotional storm ahead? Does the audience know? Does the audience care?

Despite the film's nearly 130-minute running time, the story feels rushed. An hour should have been devoted to Sorvino and Kilmer's budding romance and allowing the audience to take emotional stock of their situation, with the second hour focusing on the complications that ensue following the operation. For a theatrical treatment, it all feels so "Movie-of-the-Weekish". Both Kilmer and Sorvino are accomplished performers, and quite frankly they deserved better. The biggest problem lies with the script. The characters are not three-dimensional, and everyone says what they mean (yeah, right - just like in reality), and if they don't someone else says it for them. Nothing is left up to the audience, it's merely presented to us. A story like this requires far more complexity and emotional depth. One gets the impression the film was rushed or taken away from the director during post-production.

One can only wonder how this story would have fared under the cinematic microscopic scrutiny of Atom Egoyan.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: I used too many tissues to like this...
Review: "At First Sight" is a miserably sappy film about a blind man who gains his sight and falls in love with a woman. I believe it was based on a true story, and congratulations for that man, but no congratulations for this movie. It's an obvious tearjerker, but there are too many scenes where you just want to bawl your eyes out to make it a feel-good movie. There's nothing redeeming about this film at all! My only compliments go to Val Kilmer and Mira Sorvino, who do fine jobs with their characters. But other than that, "At First Sight" was terrible.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The miracle of sight...but what if you've never seen before?
Review: My husband of 12 years is blind from diabete's and dwindling health. We watched a movie about a blind man on our first date. So when this one came out we watched (actually I watched he listened and I explain any parts that needed explaining) it together. Unlike my husband, Virgil (Val Kilmer) has been blind since he was a very young toddler. Whose only memory of sight is a fluffy pink cloud. I have always wondered what it would be like for someone with no memories of sight to have their sight fully restored. When Virgil meets Amy (Mira Sorvino) they fall in love. He shows her his world and teaches her to ice skate on a frozen pond. She meets his family and guide dog. Then she, wanting to help him get more out of life tells him of a doctor (Bruce Davison)who can hopefully restore his sight. So after much encouragement he goes to her world in the city and agrees to see this doctor. But to Amy's shock, when his sight is restored he is not happy with his new world and sight is not what he had imagined it would be. It was very interesting that he could not identify an object as simple as a can of coke until he felt it with his hands, then understood the connection between the two. Living with a blind man for 12 years, that made perfect sense. After adjusting somewhat to this he comes to enjoy his newly found sight, and takes in all that he can. But has trouble coping with the new trials it brings. Though very educated, he can not read and doesn't have his blindness to explain why. I found it to be a very accurate movie dealing with blindness and sight restored. It ends well. And Val Kilmer did well portraying a blind man in this movie. I enjoyed this movie and learned a little more about what different blind people go through. I have known many through my husband over the last several years and admire them for their strength, courage and abilities to do just about anything. I don't know if I could be so strong. This is a very nice story I would enjoy seeing again.


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