For years, directors have been adhering to the eye-popping genre of crime thrillers, emptying their pockets in the process of trying to create fresh-faced plot points and action-packed scenarios that keep audiences on the edge of their seats. And while these tactics have undoubtedly worked for movies that were deserving of the funding and praise, others fell between the cracks and sadly underperformed — which is precisely the case with 2017’s Sleepless.
Directed by Baran bo Odar, Oscar winner Jamie Foxx stars as Vincent Downs — a Las Vegas police officer with a startling list of enemies and a knack for investigating high-stakes circumstances. However, Downs has seemingly bitten off more than he can chew when his teenage son gets kidnapped by a group of merciless gangsters. And with a star-studded cast of Foxx, Michelle Monaghan, Dermot Mulroney, David Harbour, Tip “T.I.” Harris, and Gabrielle Union, surely this film kept folks interested… right?
As it turns out, plot-hungry critics refused to find the appeal in the Jamie Foxx vehicle, which was definitely showcased in its embarrassing 25 percent Tomatometer score on Rotten Tomatoes, with a middling 37 percent audience score to back it up. For a “tired” crime thriller that allowed clichés to “outnumber” its abundance of thrills, Foxx certainly gave the performance his all.
Despite the tarnishing reviews, the film managed to find its footing amongst Netflix subscribers and is currently in a bounce back. As per FlixPatrol, Sleepless has secured its spot in the platform’s most-watched films and cracked into the Top 30 in a variety of countries — proving that even the blandest films can still register highly with film buffs.