Last Breath

A couple of divers go into the North Sea to carry out essential maintenance on the pipelines, they hit a snag and one of the team, Chris Lemons, breaks away, getting lost in the depths, a desperate mission to bring him back begins.

I'll start by saying, I did enjoy it, and after some of the atrocious films I've seen on the big screen recently, it did at least hold my attention. For me it looks and feels like a made for TV movie, the appeal was seeing Woody Harrelson.

In this day and age, with energy bills sky high, people are a lot more aware of underwater structures, such as pipes and energy lines, so it definitely has a relevance.

I have a massive phobia about open water, plus an appreciation for how much claustrophobia can really affect some people, this film has elements of both. It does pack in some tension and at times it leaves you feeling quite literally breathless.

I didn't feel particularly engaged with the characters on an emotional level, but that's the story I guess, they chose not to give them lengthy introductions.

Some of the camera work was good, best of all, the lighting, they got it spot on, it's suitably dark and gloomy, they never went overboard with the lights, smart choice.

It's worth taking another look at the documentary, it's still an incredible story of survival, it's a tremendous watch.

The acting was a mixed bag, I thought Mark Bonnar came across well, Harrelson was ok, I found Simu Liu a little wooden, I know he was playing the aloof, serious guy, but he just felt blank.

Overall it's a solid movie, I just feel that they didn't make the most out of a truly compelling and powerful story. I fear it'll be forgotten fairly quickly.

6/10.

What an amazing true story! I was blown away by the facts of what happened. Everything about it was absolutely terrifying, and the fact that almost nothing came from this afterwords is nothing short of a miracle. I never knew something like this was even possible until I looked up the possibility. The movie itself was done well, with a good amount of laughs and emotions being captured for what it is. Easy to connect and it brought you into a vision of what it was like. I would like to read more into the story and what facts they didnt include into the movie. Overall great movie and I suggest watching.

Watched at AMC on 3-4-2025.

Upon entering the cinema today, I wasn't expecting anything. I just thought, this might be a fun little film to pass the week, till some more big ones release later this month. But after leaving the room, I was utterly flabbergasted. This film was gut-wretchingly tense and kept me on edge throughout the whole screening. These 1h33 felt like 30 minutes at most. Incredible True Story Thriller that won't let go of me for some time probably. Huge respect to all the people, who do this stuff regularly, and I really hope, they get a fortune for each dive, because it wouldn't be worth it if the don't.

I liked Last Breath. These everyman blue-collar hero stories have a habit of breeding cringeworthy dialogue delivery and acting performances. For the most part this film strays away from that. The cast is talented. Everyone has been a great supporting actor in another movie. Everyone delivered an effective and convincing role.

There are two great things to take away from this film. First, it does a fantastic job of explaining a line of work and industry I knew little to nothing about. Second, the director and editor have this film at the perfect length. Any longer and I think this would have felt dragged out. Character development was satisfactory, I really did care about most of the people by the end of the film. The pacing genuinely left me in suspense at parts of the film.

It's also worth stating that the casting deserves a 10/10 because Woody Harrelson actually looks like the twin brother of the guy he is playing. Crazy coincidence. I wonder if that's why he chose to play him?

This film was fine but just could have been much more compelling.

Obviously the true story being told is incredible and very tense. But the way the film tells the story is just lacking.

The pacing is really odd and the script and acting feels like it's a B movie. The actors are wooden and they seem to have as much urgency and haste as a slug.

The cgi of the ship in the storm is good, and there are some good underwater shots.

It was also interesting to learn that they used some real footage of the real Chris as he was stranded.

I felt the addition of the fiancee just felt clichéd and shoehorned in to try and add more drama.

It's a watchable film but could have been better.