The Dive

I love these sort of trapped / survival movies, like Frozen and Open Water. But I found this movie to be flat. The setting didn't convey enough terror. The hallucination scenes were more annoying and confusing than interesting. I didn't quite get the backstory between the sisters.

Most of all, the main draw of these sort of movies involves creative thinking about what the characters could do. For instance, the viewer can have a lot of fun speculating about, "what if the protagonist does this or tries that to escape etc." Movies like Frozen and Open Water have that effect on viewer. This movie doesn't. More scenes should have focused on the characters' trying to get creative and find ways to stay alive.

It's ridiculous that this movie is rated lower than 47 meters down. This film is a remake of the 2020 Norwegian film, Breaking Surface. It's exactly the same things happening, only in a warm weather environment. Unlike ridiculous movie like 47 meters down and its sequel, this movie follows legit diving issues that would be faced with being trapped at a deep depth for an extended period of time. Running out of air is not your only worry and decompression sickness can kill you. I think people who are actually certified scuba divers will enjoy this movie more than other people would, as we can better appreciate being given those real diving issues in the plot. The acting was decent and the time goes pretty quickly, keeping you pretty engaged through the second half of the movie. Definitely worth watching.

The sisters May (Louisa Krause) and Drew (Sophie Lowe) learned to dive since they were children taught by their father (David Scicluna). Presently May is working diving at an oil platform and Drew has just lost her job. They decide to go on vacation to a remote area to dive and explore caves. They do not pay attention in the warning that the area is subject to collapse of rocks and suddenly, there are many falling rocks and Amy is stuck by a rock thirty meters below sea level. The clumsy and nervous Drew has to bring air cylinders and the car jack to release her sister, but their plan fails. What will happen to Amy?

"The Dive" (2023) is a low-budget movie with a tense and short storyline that entertains. The clumsy Drew is the character that makes most of the plot happen, with her stupidity. Throwing the car off the cliff to open the trunk is probably the top of her bad decisions. But anyway, the film works and is worthwhile watching. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Sem Ar"" ("Without Air")

May (Louisa Krause) and Drew (Sophie Lowe) are sisters going on a dive in the ocean off an isolated beach. Falling rocks cause May to be trapped under a heavy rock. Drew struggles to free her.

It's a simple two person action thriller. The premise is not that deep. It tries to give the story depth with some background with their father. It's not much. It doesn't have the same internal drama as 127 Hours or quite frankly the true story part. The diving gear does get in the way of the actors and I'm not that familiar with them. The problems can feel a little random. All in all, it's a simple and limited thriller.

"The Dive" is a film with a simple story that feels like you've already seen it, but the script manages to interest you to a certain degree and the suspense is much better in the surface scenes than in the underwater ones. It is worth mentioning that the mix between drama and suspense provides a good touch, generating concern for both main characters. The performances of the protagonists are good, the sound design manages to be of quality and the cinematography is very good, achieving great aquatic shots. A decent film that, without being excellent, manages to tell a story that sometimes becomes suffocating.