Review: Sanctum
Last Updated on Monday, 14 February 2011 18:45 Friday, 04 February 2011 19:21
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In Titanic we learned that he liked water, in Avatar we learned that he liked the color blue. Put two and two together and it should come as little surprise that James Cameron’s next involvement would be that of an underwater adventure focusing on diving in one of the least accessible cave systems in the world, the Esa-ala of the South Pacific. When the team of Frank McGuire, a world-renown cave diver, has the exit of the caves blocked due to a tropical storm, a quest originally intended for exploration becomes one of survival. Two things struck me regarding this film in particular. The first was the human aspect. Walking into the preview without any knowledge of the plot, I expected something such as crazy fish found in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace but scary marine wildlife is hardly the topic at hand here. The relationship between Frank and his son, Josh, is strained at best and full of misunderstanding and angst. Both of their characters are thoroughly fleshed out and by the end of the movie, tear-wrenching scenes were abundant. The same can be said for the rest of the cast, while full of unknowns the group dynamics were very human in nature and the immense amount of trust required in cave exploration was realistically illustrated. I do believe that if this film explores anything, it is the human psyche. The second would be the cinematography. Some scenes were without a doubt graphic and gruesome, the kind where I often threw my hands over my eyes and my breathing would fog up the 3D glasses I was wearing, thus making me miss a few more seconds of footage. Whoops. But this too went along with the realist aspect of the film, there was no fantasy glory involved in the film’s aura by any means. The usage of 3D to complement light and color was also nothing short of brilliant as you could see the rain falling, the fishes swimming, and the flashlights of the explorers through the dark waters from a whole new level and you too became immersed in the cave they were stuck in. Definitely an eerie sensation but also a pleasant one in a subtle way rather than the “in your face” previously seen with Avatar. As such, multiple styles of applying the same technique Cameron is known for only attributes further to his success as a filmmaker. And finally, I would like to issue a friendly warning to all seeing this to come warmed up. Watching water and rain on the big screen for hours on end was only bearable because I was sipping hot chocolate and did not get caught in the weather coming to the theater. In other words, you could very easily feel what was going on, and Sanctum gets props for that. The bottom line? Don’t see it because you’re a fan of Titanic and Avatar, or because you like to stuff popcorn in your mouth as in some of the gory moments I guarantee you’ll choke on it. Go see it because you’re an explorer at heart, you own Vertical Limit and The Day After Tomorrow on DVD, and your television favorites include Survivor and the Discovery Channel. And if it is worth seeing it is worth seeing right so put those 3D glasses on, they are far less scary than a diving mask!
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Stay tuned for my next one on the movie "Paul".