WasAnnon Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

Kien Navarro Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Rosie Searle It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

Zandra The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

NateWatchesCoolMovies Dreamscape is a killer fun, colourful, streamlined little fantasy sci-fi from back in the 80's that still holds its own amongst anything that today has to offer. It's a glowing testament to the shelf life of practical effects, showing that no matter how jerky, obvious or in your face an effect is, it's always going to look more dazzling to the human eye than CGI. This one is a neat kaleidoscope of animatronics, trick photography, pretty colour filters and general whackadoodle atmosphere of strangeness, and when you look at the subject matter, it becomes clear why. It's about a secret government program which employs gifted psychics to enter people's dreams, retrieving valuable information and discerning motives that could prevent tragedy. One such individual is Alex Gardner (Dennis Quaid) recruited by Dr. Paul Novotny (Max Von Sydow) to assist him in vague research which requires his cerebral talents. Quaid suits the role perfectly, considering Alex is a roguish, irresponsible dude content with using his clairvoyance to score at the racetrack, slumming way below his potential and smiling about it no end. He's tasked with figuring why the U.S. President (always nice to see Eddie Albert) is having harrowing nightmares of an America left in ruins by some catastrophic disaster. Lurking in the shadows is secretary of defence Bob Blair (a slimy Christopher Plummer) whose trigger happy agenda raises some red flags. Gardner is facing quite the conundrum, as he finds himself watched by Blair's goons, and racing to prevent the unthinkable, with only a beautiful colleague (Kate Capshaw) to help him. The effects inside the dreams are wicked, including a skin crawling human cobra hybrid, a Seuss-esque stairway into oblivion, a hazy skyscraper accident, a haunting vision of earth post-nuclear attack complete with clawing mutants (a genuinely scary moment) and more. For its time, it outdoes itself in the visual department. The supporting cast is nice as well, with appearances from Chris Mulkey, Peter Jason, George Wendt and David Patrick Kelly. One of my treasured fantasy flicks from the 80's and just a bundle of metaphysical, trippy fun.

bwanabrad-1 Dreamscape.A generation before Inception there was Dreamscape. Quaid and other psychics are investigated by a secretive laboratory run by Novotny. The young Quaid has been involved with Novotny before and is wary of becoming a lab rat again, but because of his nefarious activities he is all too easily cajoled into joining the program. Through a computer link up in a controlled environment he is able with his special powers to get inside the mind of another person and influence their dreams. The program is not without risks however, and previous failures have had disastrous consequences, he is however able to save one particularly troubled boy from a terrible, recurring nightmare. Also involved in the program is the menacing Glatman, another psychic and from his demeanor, it is obvious that they will square off before the story is finished. Lurking in the shadows is a smarmy Bob Blair, played by the impeccably dressed Christopher Plummer, who runs the secretive yet powerful government agency that finances the program. This agency is so covert that even the CIA gives it a wide berth. His motives are sinister ones, he wants to develop the psychics into the ultimate weapon for the military, one that can assassinate enemies in their sleep, and leave no trace. He gets his chance to put his theory into practice when the president, racked by feelings of guilt over the atomic weapons threat, seeks help to overcome his nightmares. The basic premise of the story is a good one, but the script needed more much development, and some of the special dream effects look pretty cheap, quite amateurish even for when they were made, even without the use of CGI. Quaid plays Quaid, as cheeky and irreverent as ever. To keep under the radar of Novotny he has been misusing his psychic powers, becoming a hustler and gambler who has really only ever used his gift to stay one step ahead of the people he owes money to. He is not helped by having him parade around in some terrible 1980s fashions complete with Shaun Cassidy hair style. Max Von Sydow, is the serious scientist and humanitarian who runs the program investigating the mind powers, who wants all of those who are troubled in their sleep to benefit. While a young Kate Kapshaw ( looking very much like Julie Christie ), is largely wasted as the token female research assistant and all too obvious romantic interest. Plummer takes the acting honors here, as the immaculately groomed Blair, a shadowy and ruthless figure with his own agenda, who will let nothing stand in his way. Less impressive is David Kelly as the psychotic psychic Glatman, a character it is difficult to take seriously at any stage. Also obvious is the timing of this release on DVD. l admit l had never heard of this movie before, but you don't need to be a psychic to understand why it is being released now, to cash in on the interest generated by Inception. Unfortunately, even for the time it was made, it looks cheap and dated, even though it was a highly probable idea. It has also not aged very well, this is no classic, it looks very much a product of its time, although the president's nightmare scene, where Eddie Albert and Quaid ride a trolley car through the ruins of Hiroshima under a red filter is well done. This is the sort of film that makes you wonder what Hitchcock or the Wachowski brothers could have done with it even though this film is from the wrong era for either director.

Paul Celano (chelano) The whole concept of this movie was pretty interesting. The ability to go into someones dream and help them face their nightmares. But the only people who can do it are psychics. At first you are hook to a machine, but if you are strong enough, you can do it without the machine. The cast was pretty good. Dennis Quaid did a decent job. I guess you could say he had an enemy and it was David Patrick Kelly. He was pretty good too. More creepy than anything. The one thing this film lacked was story. It jumped around way too much. Plus it rushed a lot. The whole time you want to see Dennis Quaid in a dream, but when he finally gets into one, the scene doesn't last that long. That is the whole point to the movie; the dreams. The last dream he enters is longer, but still rushed. Maybe they were just afraid to extend the movie, I am not sure. But if done right, it could of been fantastic.

jdavenpo I watched this as a teenager in the theater. This movie was one of the few movies in my life that I continually reflected upon.Do dreams really matter, how important are they, and can you truly control dreams as though you lived in the Matrix? I loved this movie then, and after watching Inception, i wanted to go back and rent this movie again. Will watch it in the coming week.Nothing is more exciting than to think that every night we enter our own alien world where we have more control and more power than we have ever realized.We don't have enough dream research going on.