Since the movie Awake keeps it short (and I mean really short) at a staggering 77 minutes, I am going to keep this review short. Really short. A paragraph in fact. Since the studio behind this didn’t bother releasing what I’m sure is a longer and better director’s cut, I’ll bring it to the studio’s attention that a generally putrid editing job, advertisement campaign, and release pattern does not a good movie make. The most surprising aspect of Awake is just how tolerable it is. It stars Hayden Christenson, who can be really good in films outside of the Star Wars saga (Life as a House and especially Shattered Glass), is OK here as Clay Beresford, who undergoes a heart surgery transplant and experiences anesthetic awareness, where a person finds himself alert and awake during surgery, but physically paralyzed. The premise of the film bodes for a potentially terrifying thriller. The movie isn’t really about this dilemma so much as it is about a group of people’s plan to make a lot of money and do everything in their power to get it. A plot twist occurs about half-way through that most anyone can see coming concerning one of the film’s major character. There is another plot twist, however, that occurs well into the third act, that I didn’t see coming, that actually worked pretty well. One out of two ain’t bad. Jessica Alba plays a version of herself as Clay’s new wife Sam, Terrence Howard marks his 19th movie of 2007 playing a corrupt surgeon, and Lena Olin, who only seems to appear in small movies released theatrically that barely anyone sees (Riding the Bullet, anyone?), does what she can with a minor character. I walked into Awake with so little expectations that I was surprised to find myself pretty entertained throughout the majority of the movie. There are some neat dream scenes. The build-up is pretty effective. The last shot is pretty great. Hayden’s not bad to look at. And the acting is decent. Even by Alba. At times. But it’s a minor, forgettable piece of work, with a premise that just isn’t used to its full potential. I was amazed and bewildered when the movie was over just an hour and fifteen minutes in. But did I really want it to go on for another half-hour? Nahhhh.