SANCTUM
FEBRUARY 4, 2011
“During an underwater cave exploration in Papua New Guinea, five people are trapped when a cyclone starts flooding the cave. With the water going up and the oxygen running out, their only hope of survival is to travel through the unexplored underwater caves following the course of the river that leads into the ocean.” (Wikipedia)
All of the advertisements for this movie focus on the fact that it was produced by James Cameron. The plot is implied in the trailers which give almost no mention to the characters or actors. Once seeing the movie, the reason for the direction of the previews become clear – the storyline is weak, but the visual effects are excellent. The fact that it is based on a true story also adds appeal, although the basis is very loose.
The setup of the story focuses more on the scenery and 3-D effects than introducing the characters, who fall into generalized and unoriginal categories that everybody has seen before. These include the uninvolved father who seems like an asshole but who is revealed to be an emotionally wounded man with good intentions, his resentful son who is trying to live up to his father’s legacy while fighting him every step of the way, and the even less memorable characters that make up the rest of the party. Fortunately, this weak setup is a short one, and the action starts relatively quickly with many clichés and those stupid decisions that only people in movies make.
The suspense is pretty constant throughout the rest of the movie, as the two-dimensional characters are predictably killed off in stunning three-dimensional ways that are very reminiscent of James Cameron’s style. Although the entire movie takes place in caves, each scene has a unique setting and the scenery is brought to life through the photography and cinematography. The actors do okay with the lines that they were given, but are simply not memorable. Sanctum falls short in the categories of storyline and characters, but is worth seeing for the stunning visual effects.
rmk
2/4/11