BELOW

3/10 - SPECIAL EFFECTS DO NOT A MOVIE MAKE


I’ve always been a fan of underwater movies. The first one I can remember seeing is GRAY LADY DOWN (1978) on television in 1979 or 1980. 20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA (1954) and DAS BOOT (1982) followed soon after, and THE ABYSS is by far my favorite, weaving a modern day morality tale and admonishment akin to THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL (1951) along with the dissolution and eventual rebirth of the love between a man and a woman. LEVIATHAN (1989) and DEEP STAR SIX (1989) are interesting though nowhere-nearly-as-good companions.

BELOW came and went during its brief theatrical run in late 2002. After watching it I understand why. What could have been a truly enjoyable shocker is instead a rather uninteresting underwater drama that takes place rather unconvincingly in 1943 aboard a CGI US submarine and involves ghosts. Bruce Greenwood, who has been phenomenal in his work for filmmaker Atom Egoyan, is given very little to do and the rest of the cast seems just as bored. Olivia Williams, best known as Bruce Willis’s wife in THE SIXTH SENSE, is the only woman in the film. None of the characters really come to life, and there is a depth-charge sequence that recalls 2001’s U-571.

I watched the film on the recommendation of a friend, and when it film was over I phoned her and demanded the 105 minutes I wasted watching it. I suppose that if I had seen this film 20 years ago, I would have enjoyed it – at 34, it’s old hat to me.

The DVD contains a running commentary, and it would have been interesting to hear what they have to say, but the movie bored me so much that by the end I just didn’t care.

- Jonathan Stryker



WHAT YOU SAID [VIEW]

Scott W. Davis said
I've gotta say I'm real surprised to hear you didn't like this one, Jonathan. I agree, the initial set-up was very dull. But after the first 15 minutes, I thought things picked up nicely. Well, just goes to show there's differing opinions here at Horror Express. :D

Seen It? Tell Us What You Think




DIRECTOR

David N. Twohy

CAST

Matthew Davis
Bruce Greenwood
Olivia Williams
Holt McCallany
Scott Foley
Zach Galifianakis
Jason Flemyng
Dexter Fletcher
Nick Chinlund
Jonathan Hartman
Chuck Ellsworth
Crispin Layfield

RELEASE DATE

2002

REVIEWER

Jonathan Stryker

REVIEW DATE

18th April 2003 - 10:44PM


the Last 10 Movie Reviews by

Jonathan Stryker