Cillian Murphy on Wes Craven’s Red Eye: “I don’t think it’s a good movie”

Last Updated on February 26, 2024

Just two months after the release of Batman Begins, Cillian Murphy was back in theaters with Red Eye, a psychological thriller directed by Wes Craven. Although the film received decent reviews and was a box-office success, Murphy doesn’t consider it to be one of his best.

Cillian Murphy opened up about Red Eye during GQ‘s recent cover story, saying that he “love[s] Rachel McAdams and we had fun making it, but I don’t think it’s a good movie. It’s a good B movie.“

The movie follows a woman who is pulled into a political assassination plot by her initially charming seatmate during a red-eye flight to Miami. Murphy says that it was that duality that originally attracted him to the role. “It’s why I wanted to play it,” Murphy said. “That two thing. The nice guy and the bad guy in one. The only reason it appealed to me is you could do that. That turn, you know?”

Rachel McAdams also chimed in to praise her Red Eye co-star. “They say the nicest people sometimes make the best villains,” McAdams said. “We’d listen to music and gab away while doing the crossword puzzle, which he brought every day and would graciously let me chime in on.… I think the number one question I got about Cillian way back then was whether or not he wore contact lenses.“

This isn’t the first time that Cillian Murphy has expressed his dislike for Red Eye (albeit in an exceptionally kind way), as he told Uproxx in 2021 that he didn’t like his performance. “When I was a younger actor, I was really, really hard on everything that I was in. I hated watching myself. I hated looking at myself on screen,” Murphy said. “I remember when I saw it was like ‘Oh, that’s kind of a schlocky B movie.’ Rachel McAdams is excellent in it. But I didn’t think I gave a very nuanced performance in it. But, listen, if people love the movie then that’s great. I’m pleased with that. I’m less hard on myself now when I look at stuff. I’m less hypercritical of my work. But that’s probably a hangover from that to be honest.“

Although Murphy isn’t the biggest fan of Red Eye, the movie certainly has its fans and even received a 4K Ultra HD release last year. What are your thoughts on the movie?