Most science fiction fans were paying close attention to the release of the Underwater movie. More importantly, Underwater is being praised for its ‘less is more handling of the creature feature and surely one-liner movie quotes. The film itself follows a small group of ocean researchers drilling to the bottom of the sea. The location for this massive mission is the Mariana Trench, the same trench where other giant creatures of the deep have been known to live. The Deep Blue Sea movie and novel have quoted this same habitat for its marvelous beasts.
The cast is helmed by Kristen Stewart who plays Norah and despite there being other people in the movie, there is no use mentioning anyone else.
It seems like everyday sci-fi movie connoisseurs are always looking for new movies about things that live in the deep. I for one always go in with the highest of expectations and yet, am left wondering why so many of these types of films are underwhelming. Many fans are still comparing anything new as not being better than Abyss. I do have to agree that that particular film is a great benchmark though.
And yet, as an example again, Underwater as a whole decidedly misses some opportunities. They do not increase the stakes in terms of atmosphere, or cinematography that blows you away or that brings a lot of hair-raising tension. If you are going to make a new movie about something very similar to an iconic 1989 film, then you should at least bring your A-game.
A Devastating Underwater Earthquake
Just in case you’ve not seen The Abyss, there is a submarine instead of an underwater laboratory. But in both, they end up drilling at a high-tech underwater facility. They also both disturb something ominous from the depths of the sea. In the new film directed by Willian Eubank (The Signal), the story starts off looking like it’s going to be a winner. An earthquake devastates the facility.
As the group suddenly realizes they are taking on water, and something has attacked one of the crew they need to make a quick exit. They decide they’ll simply don some suits and walk a mile (nearly 2 km) to try to get back to the surface. I love a simple narrative and despite a few small clues during the final act pointing to a conspiracy of sorts, the story here is easy enough to follow.
Somehow though, the Underwater movie lacks any discerning features that other stories in its pond seem to have. There are many similarities to be drawn if you compare this film to any of the Alien movies. But in Underwater, the early appearance of one of the movie’s creatures isn’t something that makes the crew more scared. The crew is already so scared it’s hard to find another emotion in anyone. It could also be compared to something like 2017’s Life, which I rather enjoyed. What that film had was some pretty cool cinematography and an opening scene filmed in a continuous single shot. Underwater lacks any cinematography that makes it shine.
A 90-Minute Runtime Movie Review for Underwater 2020
Once the group hits the ocean floor the 90-minute run time drags out when it should be ramping up. There is so much darkness as a focal point in various stages of the film. it left me slightly annoyed.
Characters are one-dimensional. As I said earlier, there are other people in Underwater apart from its lead, Norah. However, I’m hard-pressed to remember any of them which makes most of the death scenes less impactful. For the most part, even though none have solid backgrounds to hook into there also weren’t any performances that stood out as awful. There’s nothing fundamentally wrong with Underwater, but it’s just not what I was looking for in a film like this.
I give Underwater
3 “This better not be some 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea sh*t,” but it is out of 5
Writers: Brian Duffield, Adam Cozad. Directed by William Eubank. Produced and distributed by 20th Century Fox.
Underwater Movie Quotes:
Did you love the Underwater movie? Check out these memorable Underwater movie quotes below and choose your favorite.
Best Quotes from the Underwater movie.
“You lose your sense of time in the dark. So let’s light this Sh*t up.” Norah.
“It ripped him right out of his suit” Paul Abel played by T.J. Miller
“Oh, you beautiful flat-chested chick.” Paul Abel.
