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Scuba Forum / General / January 2007Belated movie review: Open Water
It is cold here in northeast Ohio, so time to dream about summer and diving and watch movies while getting through the winter. Last night, I watched Open Water. I think the best way to report on this movie is pros and cons. Pros Several times I was engrossed in the action and characters. There were some intense scenes. Underwater dive video portions were pretty good. Acting was good, got involved with the two leads. Location shots were good. Cons Strange looking. Looks like digital video transferred to film. I was really underwhelmed by the experience. I was expecting so much more from the hype. But, how much can you do with two people who love each other left behind in the water for a day and night. Once again, they lean on sharks to get a JAWS thing going to sell tickets and stake the plot on. Sharks and JAWS in movies and TV was overdone a long time ago. This is not a good film to inspire people to take up recreational diving. (Uh, huh, I'm going going to do that, I'm afraid of sharks. No way am I getting left behind in the ocean) Conclusion If you don't have anything else to do to get through winter, watch this movie. If you have the opportunity to go ocean diving, go ocean diving. **1/2 I just had dinner with Wagner and his killer hound last night in Cleveland, I'm sitting on the turnpike near Warren now. Enjoying the storm, Marshall? Someone once said this is the only movie where you wind up rooting for the sharks.  SignaturePopeye "A vacuum is a hell of a lot better than some of the stuff that nature replaces it with." - Tennessee Williams www.finalprotectivefire.com > It is cold here in northeast Ohio, so time to dream about summer and > diving and watch movies while getting through the winter. Last night, I [quoted text clipped - 34 lines] > > **1/2 > I just had dinner with Wagner and his killer hound last night in > Cleveland, I'm sitting on the turnpike near Warren now. [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > Someone once said this is the only movie where you wind up rooting for the > sharks. I watched it some time back. Yeah, I wound up rootingf r the sharks. <snip> Dennis > This is not a good film to inspire people to take up recreational > diving. You succinctly describe the best quality of Open Water. On Jan 20, 7:33 am, "marshallk...@gmail.com" <marshallk...@gmail.com> wrote: > Once again, they lean on sharks to get a JAWS thing going to sell > tickets and stake the plot on. Sharks and JAWS in movies and TV was > overdone a long time ago. You're dead wrong about that, as usual. It's like saying aliens are overdone or terrorists are overdone. Sharks still get great ratings. Look at Discovery Channel's Shark Week for example. Sharks are prehistoric, barely understood, and man killers. Why not portray them as evil? >From the Associated Press - "HONOLULU - The Kauai surfer was lucky: the eight-foot long shark that took a half moon-shaped chomp out of his board didn't go for a second bite. "He made it back to shore, shaken but unharmed, and the spat-out 13-inch chunk of board washed up on shore later that day Jan. 5, the only casualty of the first shark attack of 2007 on a surfboard. "Given the shark's razor sharp teeth, a carnivorous appetite and a reputation as a "man-eater," it's easy to understand why attacks like that grab headlines." > ". . . razor sharp teeth, a carnivorous appetite and a > reputation as a "man-eater," it's easy to understand why attacks like > that grab headlines." Great description of my third wife, but she never got headlines. Just the house. esg That movie sucked! After a few minutes, I was rooting for the sharks. My first reaction on seeing OW was that if I had to pick someone on that boat to get eaten by sharks it would be that couple (although you have to admit she looked pretty good naked!). So most of the movie was spent wondering when the sharks were going to show up and put us all out of our misery. Also, although the gearing up and briefing sequences were pretty realistic and interesting, there was one major error that was absolutely laughable (big spoiler here): Remember how early on after they have been left behind, the girl drops her weight belt? They even make a point of showing the weights hitting bottom, as though that would have some significance later on in the film. Then, at the very end, to end it all, she slips out of her BC, raises her arms and slides beneath the waves, still wearing her wetsuit and with no weights. Quite a trick -- only in Hollywood! gc > That movie sucked! > After a few minutes, I was rooting for the sharks. >> film. Then, at the very end, to end it all, she slips out of her BC, > raises her arms and slides beneath the waves, still wearing her wetsuit > and with no weights. Quite a trick -- only in Hollywood! That was only one of the mistakes that we caught. We also wondered why the couple was so stupid as to not wave a fin in the air, etc. I can't remember it all but there were a number of things that our group criticized. > > ". . . razor sharp teeth, a carnivorous appetite and a > > reputation as a "man-eater," it's easy to understand why attacks like > > that grab headlines." > Great description of my third wife, but she never got headlines. Just > the house. 3rd? Jeezus man. Take it from me, you dont have to get married to get f.cked over... Sharks still get great ratings. Greg, I agree with you on this one. > On Jan 20, 7:33 am, "marshallk...@gmail.com" <marshallk...@gmail.com> > wrote: [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] > reputation as a "man-eater," it's easy to understand why attacks like > that grab headlines." On Jan 20, 4:18 pm, "marshallk...@gmail.com" <marshallk...@gmail.com> wrote: > Sharks still get great ratings. > > Greg, I agree with you on this one. It's the only thing they have going for them. If people believe they are vicious maneaters, they'll have much more sympathy for them. As soon as people find out the truth, that all sharks are really warm and friendly once you get to know them, no one will give a damn any more about shark finning and overfishing and the sort of people who like to torture live sharks to get revenge for Jaws. They'll become boring fish like cod or Chilean seabass, to be wiped off this planet and not a soul will miss them. For instance, take the movie the perfect storm. The plot of the movie involves a group of greedy uncouth fishermen, thumbing their noses at Mother Nature by trying to wipe out the last of the Atlantic swordfish. When the storm whips up and kills everyone, does the audience give a hoot about the fish? Heck, no. It's all about the "poor" fishermen. You think the audience would be so forgiving if the fishermen were after humpback whales, or were shark finning? Keep sharks deadly and you'll keep sharks alive. Watching this movie was one of the funniest times I'd had in a long time. I was on the Cayman Aggressor with my dive club and we watched this with a somewhat critical eye. Aside from the whiney yuppie couple (and I have nothing against those, taking pride in my own whine-e-ness (couldn't figure out to spell it)), there were so many things wrong with the movie that it served as a good learning lesson for us. (The lessons weren't in diving but in how to make a bad film.) Anyway, even though this movie didn't make it too big, it was made on a shoe-string so it did make a decent profit. > It is cold here in northeast Ohio, so time to dream about summer and > diving and watch movies while getting through the winter. Last night, I > watched Open Water. I think the best way to report on this movie is > pros and cons. > > Pros I just watched this too, my wife and I both thought it sucked. Jay http://www.divewithjay.com |
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