At First Sight

An exceptionally touching and provocative love story. [15 January 1999, Calendar, p. F-4]

Offers solid entertainment, it's too uneven to be considered memorable.

It's a movie drenched in narcissism and wish-fulfillment, almost a textbook on how to make a formulaic, romantic film.

Val Kilmer, clearly pleased to be entering the Oscar disability sweepstakes, does what he can as the hunk who learns how to see.

For all the tear-jerking plot twists, it's a glumly dry-eyed affair.

Director Irwin Winkler and his cast obviously hope to shed light on the boundaries of love, and instead come up with a walloping case of the preachies.

The film slips into a coma early on and never awakens.