This movie didn't win any awards at film festivals, or hundreds of millions of dollars at the box office, over and above The New York Times called it "one of the season's biggest disappointments". However, I beg to differ!

First of all, I'm crazy about such a plot which can make the whole world collapse on the head of its hero in only one or two days, whatever the genre is (Die Hard, 1941, Hello Dolly.. etc). Here, it's the perfect thriller: How to find the one who killed YOU, in just less than 48 hours! I said a genuine WAW when I knew that it had been done firstly in 1949. It's a great formula for a strong noir, sharp thrill, and a substance too.

Speaking of which, it seemed as an elegy of our modern life, where materialism is a sly dominant, and idealism is a naive victim. So when you're living in a world of unfaithful people, to discover eventually that your closest friend is the one who planned to kill you--then definitely you're dying. And the message was unmistakable, especially with the main character living his death literally at the end: Try to find the ones who really love you, try to do the right thing by facing evil early enough before it destroys you or others, and to be that cautious not that blind all the time.. Or should I say all the time you've got!

(Meg Ryan) was fabulous. She was at the top of her loveliness and tenderness. (Dennis Quaid) was at his best also. He did some unforgettable efforts, to the extent that I believed how he was that grieved sarcastic professor. The 2 directors, (Annabel Jankal) & (Rocky Morton), made a very good job to sense the oddity of the moment through solidly suspenseful atmosphere.

I'm in love with some scenes where everything was quite perfect: (Quaid) knows that he's going to die, so he runs in the streets like a shadow with a screamer electronic guitar; it was how to define "helpless" cinematically. The song at the bar, (Too Much Sex, Not Enough Affection) by (Timbuk. J), which refers to the absorption in materialism, plus this whole scene and the smile of (Ryan) at its end too. And the moment when the wealthy wife finds out about the suicide of the student. It has interesting image and sound, which made it a worth watching experience. However, this movie wasn't all top-notch.

Yes, it's technically glaring, but maybe the script cared of making hot chases, more than strengthening the deep concept about the end of a guiltless guy in such a horrific dark world where perfidy rules, or the poisoning of the intellectual in this savagely violent community where money owns souls. Actually, the types of people which the movie presented didn't express that important motif, and were just cards in a fun card game.

All in all, it's about being alive indeed, not to be dead and alive in the same time. And that was said in a movie which was so alive suspensefully more than intellectually, but close to dead when it comes to appreciate its real amusing time.

Merry Christmas honey. I want a divorce. Not a great way to start a movie because you know nothing about these characters, so there's little opportunity for sympathy, particularly for the wife Jane Kaczmarek who hands the papers to husband Dennis Quaid out of the blue. She's not cold. She's just tired of his alleged coldness which a bit of therapy could have brought out, not the sudden ending of a marriage where the two people seem to still be in love with her. But that's the least of Quaid's issues. The sudden alleged suicide of a student, a fling with cutsie pie student Meg Ryan and the discovery that he has a toxin in his system that will kill him within a matter of two days at the most. Now he's also wanted for murder when the wife is bludgeoned, and he grabs Ryan and takes her on the run so he can figure out what happened.

This is not a bad remake of the 1950 film noir classic. When it came out, I argued with friends over remakes of classic films, saying that it did sometimes get younger people to look at the originals after seeing the remake, thus serving a good purpose. This isn't the fiasco of other remakes, as it stands on its own with various plot elements that were not in the very complex original. But rather than being complex, this often gets convoluted, having jarring cuts and consistency and some really poor performances by supporting actors. Charlotte Rampling looks like a Spider Woman at the start as a supposedly nefarious woman of mystery, and at the funeral of the student who killed himself is seen wearing a veil that indeed looks like it has a spider on it. Nice touch, but it makes her look creepy. Robin Johnson as Rampling's daughter is another bizarre element tossed in to cause more mayhem and confusion.

Other characters pop in and out of the action as Quaid does his best to find out why he was victimized, and it goes into detail of some really confusing corruption at the University he works at. It's not just the desire for power. It's something much darker than that, and after a while, it's almost science fiction like in certain plot developments. Quaid and Ryan may have had chemistry in real life, but it's not visible in their scenes here. There's plenty of action and certainly some very thrilling twists, but this was a missed opportunity to become something great like the original. It's unfair to compare the two because all they really share is the fact that the hero knows he's going to die and wants to find out how come see ended up in this position and who was responsible. Definitely worth seeing as long as with you or is aware that there are many loyal e flaws and that doesn't just mean the scene where he fights with someone over a big ugly black abyss of dark muck.

Someone poisoned named Dexter Cornell (Dennis Quaid as an unsettling college professor) and he's got to find out who . He's got to find out why . He's got to find out now . In 24 hours, he'll be Dead On Arrival. He along with a friend student (Meg Ryan) frantically seek who is responsible and why he was targeted for death . His search for the suspect is further complicated by the fact that he is being sought by the police on phony charges of killing .

Mediocre remake of the 1949 Noir film that contains thrills , suspense , a complex intrigue and plot twists . The starring , Dennis Quaid , relates his own lethal murder become himself in detective and spend his ending moments trying to uncover his hit men . As his time runs out,he has only hours to identify , he desperately seeks to discover who is responsible his death . The search for the suspect is further complicated by the facts of numerous turns , deceits and a twisted intrigue . Passable acting by Dennis Quaid as a teacher becomes embroiled in a series of murders involving people around him and supported by Meg Ryan as a likable but reluctant student , both of whom married after shooting , though nowadays are separated themselves. Supporting cast in frankly enjoyable , such as Charlotte Rampling , Daniel Stern , Jane Kaczmarek , Christopher Neame , Robert Knepper , Jay Patterson and the deceased Brion James .

Colorful cinematography throughout the story , the color in the film begins to drain to monochrome, thus representing the central character's deteriorating health as the poison steadily takes it's toll until it is in black and white as in the opening - presumably showing the flashback catching up to the current time-line of the story . Screeching and inappropriate musical score composed by means of synthesizer .The motion picture was middlingly directed by Rocky Morton ans Annabel Jenkel , the same people who brought ¨Max Headrom¨to TV series . This story results to be a remake from ¨DOA¨ (1969) a dark B-thriller directed by Rudolph Mate with Edmond O'Brien , Luther Adler and Pamela Britton . It was also followed by a inferior remake as ¨Color me dead¨(1969) by Eddie Davis with Tom Tryon , Carolyn Jones and Rick Jason