Review: Underwater

Release date: January 10, 2020
Running time: 95 minutes
Starring: Kristen Stewart, T.J. Miller, Jessica Henwick 

Underwater takes us on a journey with a team of subaquatic researchers including Norah (Stewart) , Emily (Henwick), Captain (Vincent Cassel).  They must do their best to survive in their subterranean laboratory after suffering what they think is an earthquake.  But as they dig deeper to the bottom of the ocean they discover something that will put the mission and the lives of the entire team in jeopardy.

I will admit that coming into this movie, I had low expectations as the trailers really reminded me of a deep sea version of Alien Covenant and LIFE (both of which I did not enjoy).  But I was hopeful because of the inclusion of Kristen Stewart fresh off her enjoyable role in Charlie's Angels. Although this movie was short, it quickly caught my attention with its suspenseful action, great visuals, and climatic score.  This was all highlighted in the opening sequence, where the fantastic cinematography was on display, wasting no time with some thrilling panning and tracking shots. The slow motion action effects were amazing and probably some of the best I have seen in recent memory.  And its clear FOX Studios loves some T.J. Miller as his character was irreverent and funny, very similar to his role in the popular Deadpool franchise.  He was my highlight of the film; incredibility funny and enjoyable, which acted as a balance to the intense action and light horror of the rest of this movie.  

However, some of the issues with the film do drag down this otherwise good action suspense movie.  As soon as you start to get into the film and think that you understand what is going on, the movie dives down to a level that makes absolutely no sense.  I don't think I have seen a movie where the trailer leaves you optimistic but actually seeing the movie leaves you more confused.  I honestly do not think i can answer the who, what, where, when, and how of this film.  I could surely research certain aspects but why must I do further investigation to understand a film I just saw? I didn't understand the endgame and even at times the severity of their predicament didn't feel intense at all. Which is a shame, because like I said, I really did enjoy the initial parts of the film and thought that this could have been a really interesting adventure.  

Underwater's intense action, climactic score, and good characters are sunk by a plot that dives into nonsense halfway through this short film.

Rent It