Last Breath

What is supposed to be a routine repair in the North Sea off the shore of Scotland turns into a race against time and a life-or-death situation for a trio of deep-sea divers.

This movie is based on a miraculous true story. The story is one of resilience, teamwork, and bravery. It is told in a way that gives the viewer an idea of the profession and the part everyone plays. The visuals are outstanding, showing the awe-inspiring depth of the ocean and the risk deep-sea divers take regularly. With a runtime of one hour and thirty-three minutes, this movie will have the viewer on the edge of their seat, holding their breath from the beginning to the end. This movie is worth a trip to the theater to appreciate this incredible story.

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?

I watched it. I was shocked by it. Seeing all the technology and things they do just to get to the bottom of the sea. It seems as complicated as going to the moon. It's really impressive and hard working. For me, I would have just not have bothered. Lol. Technology would be behind with me on charge. It seems so intense and scary to do that kind of work. Especially in dangerous seas. The scenes were intense and driven with hopes and fears. It's really something to see people work together and depend on each other. I think the only thing this movie is lacking is it felt too short, like it needed something else. But, my criticism lacks creativity since I don't know what could be added to it.

Last Breath was Regal's latest mystery movie and boy, was it an intense viewing experience! I found myself taking deep breaths throughout as the tension mounted - as if to assure myself that I could still breathe (maybe it's an asthma thing). This movie tells the true story depicted in 2019's documentary of the same name. Things go wrong on a deep sea diving repair mission and a diver gets trapped on the bottom of the ocean as the rest of the people on the ship above (and in the bell beneath the surface) battle the elements and the clock in their efforts to rescue him. Woody Harrelson turns in a solid performance in here, as do his costars Simu Liu and Finn Cole. The movie is efficiently paced with zero fat on it at all (yet managing to feel so much longer than it really is, because of the stakes involved for the characters). Cinematography and score are impressive as well. Recommended. Video review on my Cyn's Corner YouTube channel.

LIKES: Great Cinematography Acting That Works An Inspiring Story Good Visual Effects Fantastic Sound Editing Integration Into the Process Believable With Just Enough Sheen Some Of The Scenes Come Together Perfectly Summary: For me, Last Breath is a very visceral movie in terms of the investment in the visual and sound effects to bring this tale to life. The film immerses you into the entire process of diving for maintenance, giving us detailed looks at the preparation of these brave patrons to venture into the depths of the sea. A stunning visual direction gives so much gravity to the scenes below, the encroaching darkness of the silent seabed a terror rivaling any beast that may lurk in its depths. Such direction pans through much of the movie, keeping everything in frame, combining elements that bring the surface and the depths together as they try to accomplish the impossible. Alongside the visuals is an equally impressive sound effect collection; the movie theaters unleash all the power of the ocean into surround sound goodness that further brings the experience to life. Crashing waves, blunt thumps, thunderous booms, and the strain of the ship are just some of the things you will get in this film as they roll through the theater quite loudly. It makes all the scenes worth the investment, each member and step to this rescue operation immensely detailed to help incorporate one into the movie to degrees I did not expect while keeping the reality present. Last Breath does have those Hollywood touches to make things exciting, pretty, or have that extra jeje; I never felt it strayed too far from being believable, which gets additional points in my book. This balance is a nice medium ground to make the film entertaining, but not to the point of corny, with some of the scenes coming together in that perfect amount to stimulate goosebumps or a tear in your eye like two audience members in my showing.

Regarding the acting and story, Last Breath exceeded my expectations from the trailers. It is a nice film that is there to inspire and amaze. While not the most original story, this film shows heroic efforts of teamwork, communication, and intelligence to handle an emergency, with fantastic speeches to further lift our character to the status of hero. What this team did is quite incredible, if not a tad heavy-handed, but it is certainly the pick-me-up movie to help shine light in what feels like a metaphorical darkness much of this movie takes place in. As for the acting, the cast director assembled a winning team for this film, with many of the leads perfect for the stalwart and unsure trailblazers. Cole is charming and vulnerable as he handles his new team and gives us the motivation to want to do this impossible feat. Liu still keeps to his reserved status: the warrior who doesn't punch so much as plan the job and see it to the end. It works in this case, a nice chemistry and changing dynamic that reminded me of his role in Arthur the King. Woody Harrelson is also surprisingly better than I thought, managing to break out of his usual Woody Harrelson antics enough to be different. A mentor like Haymitch, but not tied to the drink, this character had more moxie and heroism than the bitter drunkard. Though it is not the deepest, the chemistry among these actors was good, forming a unit that felt very geared towards an unorthodox brotherhood that is very in tune with the theme of the movie.

DISLIKES: Not The Most Thrilling For Me Felt A Little Rushed Not As Much Character Integration The Ending Seems Extra Overall, Okay Summary: Where the movie is a visual spectacle, the same can't be said for the full execution of this story. For one thing, the thrills of this movie are limited, either by desensitization or by understanding how the story is going to end. There is a timer that tries to set the mood with the visual tactics, but it soon crosses into a territory where something big has to happen to continue this journey. I did not feel the usual edge of survival or the engaging struggles that left me on the edge of my seat. Though you get a whole team experience in this process, the character integration is still not optimized. Many characters have their moments, but most of their names I don't remember because of how little they were ingrained into the story. As the movie continues on, there are those moments that feel immensely connected, but the ending becomes a bit of a boring mess as the epilogue shows the aftermath. Is it cool and heartwarming to see the real-life counterparts in their montage of life stories? Yes, it was. The part preceding that element was the part that I felt off about, a sort of pointless, simplified examination of some of the shared fears and hesitations that did little but extend the film. It's not horrible, but there had to be a better way, given all the things mentioned in the likes. When you factor these things together, the movie just feels sort of an okay film, the story more special than the film representing it.

The VERDICT: Last Breath is a movie that holds a lot of spirit and hope, something we need in the times we currently face. Its strengths are the visual prowess of the movie and the sound effects that accompany it to give you one of the closest dives to handling the dangers of the sea. Somehow, they found a way to make Hollywood magic and real life play nicely together, a film that feels accurate but not so entrenched in details to be a documentary or bland visual book. The acting is engaging and fun, the characters feel as realistic as the story, and they portray qualities I like to see in roles like these to stand against the often one-dimensional notes modern cinema chooses to follow. Despite these qualities, the movie is just not unique enough, outside one or two elements of the story. The thrills are minimal for me, knowing the things I know, and solutions came rather quickly and realistically to throw out some of the entertainment values. Alongside an ending that felt odd (much like my other recent review), the film just doesn't have as much shine as the trailers had me hoping for. Is this a movie? For the primary audience of drama/thriller to match films like The Perfect Storm and The Guardian, you should see this in theaters for the special effects prowess. Others will most likely enjoy this film the most at home, though, and that's where I recommend this film be seen. My scores for Last Breath are: Drama/Thriller: 7.0-7.5 Movie Overall: 7.0.