Open Water 3

I don't leave a lot of reviews but I felt compelled to help others to not waste their time on this stinker. Found footage movies have been worn out over the years and this is no different than any of the other terrible films to come out in this genre. Do yourself a favour and move along as watching this car crash of a movie will probably make you dumber.

Open Water 3: Cage Dive (2017)

** (out of 4)

Jeff, Josh and Megan (Joel Hogan, Josh Potthoff, Megan Pelta Hill) are three friends from California who take a trip to Australia where they plan on trying out for a reality show. While there they decide to go cage diving with great white sharks but a freak wave tips over the boat and soon the three are stranded in the middle of the ocean.

This film was made as simply CAGE DIVE but I'm guessing when it was bought for its American release it had OPEN WATER 3 slapped to it. For the most part I enjoyed the first film in the series but the second one wasn't nearly as good, although it did remain slightly entertaining. Part three is when the magic runs out and there are a number of issues with the picture but what kept me turned off the most were the characters.

I will say that all three actors do a good job with their roles but that didn't make me like these people. I mean, they're basically very shallow and annoying people and when it comes to a "lost footage" movie you need to like the people you're spending the time with. Sadly I didn't enjoy their company and especially since a lot of the time they were doing extremely stupid things. I know, in order for a horror film to work you need dumb characters. I'm not going to spoil what exactly happens but I guarantee you will know the scene I'm talking about when it happens.

Another problem with the movie is the fact that it's really not that scary or intense. I'm sure some of this has to do with the fact that I didn't like the characters but the attack scenes aren't all that scary on their own and I'd argue that I never really felt as if they were under attack by these sharks. OPEN WATER 3 isn't an awful movie because it did keep me slightly into what was going on but once the movie was over and I started thinking back on it I ended up finding more and more issues with it.

I enjoyed this movie more than I thought I would. After reading some of the reviews I nearly gave it a miss, but being a big fan of shark movies I decided to give it a chance. Despite the cover leading you to think the sharks are a fanciful size, the actual shark footage was believable and thankfully not overdone.

This is a standalone movie but I would put it on a par with the first Open Water movie and I liked it much more than the ridiculous Open Water 2. The acting was good and while some parts dragged on there was enough (including a few jump scares) to keep you invested in the story.

Some reviews have compared this with "The Shallows" and while this movie is different in many ways it was refreshing that the sharks weren't single-minded in their efforts to get their prey. This movie doesn't pretend to be a masterpiece but certainly has some good moments and is worth a viewing.

The very low and very high reviews are hard to take seriously and despite some of the more annoying moments I reckon it's a solid 6 out of 10.

Lame characters, lazy story, some nice shark shots

Total snooze fest, predictable, and horrible acting. I really like the other two Open Water movies but this one disappointed. If you want to watch a good cage diving flick just get 47 Meters Down.