By Spelunking is a really funny word for a really cool thing. It means cave exploring and that is what Sanctum is all about. The “true story” of the explorers of one of the largest cave systems in the world. Why do I bring the word up here? Mostly because they don’t even use it once in the movie and I probably won’t get another chance to use it in this review.
But I also bring it up because unlike the word spelunking, which looks dumb but is actually a really awesome thing, Sanctum looks awesome but is actually a really dumb thing. While tension fraught cave exploring can keep your eyes glued to the screen there are serious issues with the rest of the film. Read on to find out more and see if I can resist using the word spelunking again… other than there. Damn.
Spelunking is a really funny word for a really cool thing. It means cave exploring and that is what Sanctum is all about. The "true story" of the explorers of one of the largest cave systems in the world. Why do I bring the word up here? Mostly because they don't even use it once in the movie and I probably won't get another chance to use it in this review.
But I also bring it up because unlike the word spelunking, which looks dumb but is actually a really awesome thing, Sanctum looks awesome but is actually a really dumb thing. While tension fraught cave exploring can keep your eyes glued to the screen there are serious issues with the rest of the film. Read on to find out more and see if I can resist using the word spelunking again… other than there. Damn.{{page_break}}
After a freak storm occurs a group of explorers are trapped in a flooding cave system deep underground and must use their limited resources to find another way out. The group includes intrepid cave explorer Frank (Richard Roxburgh); his estranged son, Josh (Rhys Wakefield); the billionaire funding the expedition, Carl (Ioan Gruffudd); the billionaire's girlfriend, Victoria (Alice Parkinson); and George a red shirt member of the exploration crew. As the cave floods they are forced to explore deeper into the cave to find where it spills out into the ocean. Unfortunately the cave isn't the nicest place to travel around and their supplies are low.
Sanctum's screenplay was actually co-written by one of the people involved in the cave dive that the film is based on. According to him many of the events are true and they tried to stick close to what actually happened. Who knows if that's true or not, but the fact that someone passionate about cave exploring was involved in writing the film is very apparent. Unfortunately it's not in the good way. There are a plethora of moments and lines attempting to describe why caving is so amazing throughout the film, and they're clearly attempting to explain the thrill the screenwriter feels when caving, but it only aids to the ham-fistedness of the screenplay as a whole. Almost every relationship is annoyingly over done, especially the father son one between Frank and Josh.
However, when the actors stop talking the film becomes far more enjoyable. Sanctum does a great job of making you feel claustrophobic and truly brings you to the edge of your seat during its plethora of literal tight squeeze and (again literal) cliff hanger moments. When the movie wants to be intense it can be, but much of this is not thanks to its story or acting, but more because of the simple fact that a flooding cave with no light is a scary ass place for anyone to be. I suppose to director Alister Gierson's credit he didn't get in the way too much of the scariness of the situation and setting. Oh, and in case you hadn't heard Gierson's name yet, that's probably because James Cameron's has been tossed around with the film more than the actual directors to the point where Cameron, who was one of the producers, seems to get higher billing in the end credits than the man responsible for directing the film.
Outside of its tense moments Sanctum fails big time in one of its most promoted aspects: 3D. I have never seen a movie where 3D is so pointless. That isn't to say that this is bad 3D like Clash of the Titans was. No, the 3D here was the same technology that Cameron used on Avatar, so you know it's good. It's just absolutely and utterly useless in a film where closed spaces and tight shots are the majority of what the audience sees. Seeing this movie in 3D adds absolutely nothing. It's even worse when you consider the fact that the film opens with some impressive panoramic shots that look like you could at least be in for a nifty 3D travelogue style film. However, this idea is quickly stomped when most of the cave scenes are obviously shot either on a set or with CGI. Thus the striking visual factor of a cool 3D reality is robbed along with the fact that absolutely nothing in the movie truly benefits from having the added depth.
What can be said for Sanctum is that it is tense when it needs to be, but terrible in almost every other aspect. Thankfully, talking usually takes a back seat to the movie's action, but that doesn't really make the film enjoyable enough for the price of admission, especially if that price of admission includes the extra cash for 3D. If you shell out the money for that then you're as dumb as the word spelunking sounds.
6.00 – Okay. (6s are just okay. These movies usually have many flaws, didn’t try to do anything special, or were poorly executed. Some will still love 6s, but most prefer to just rent them. Watch more trailers and read more reviews before you decide.)
