Going Deep, but Always Going Down: Sanctum Movie Trailer Official (HD)

About halfway through this vanity project, billed as "Executive Produced by James Cameron, director of Avatar and Titanic" the conclusion is hard to avoid: one is watching the aquatic-adventure equivalent of "Predator" or "The Nightmare on Elm Street" series, where the only fun that may remain is guessing which one of the cast is about to die next. 


The premise offers considerable prospects of escapist entertainment, if you're not creeped out by caves or extended underwater sequences: a group of explorers is deep inside one of the largest cave systems in the world, when a tropical cyclone above ground floods out their bas e station and forces them to find a possible way out by merely following the flow of the underground river.


The motley crew includes a crusty adventure-junkie, his estranged son, three associates, and the rich thrill-seeker who is financing the initial exploration, and who has brought his girlfriend along.  Things start out interestingly enough until the storm blows in and at that point, the body count begins to ratchet up, leading to frayed tempers and despair among the survivors. 


Richard Roxburgh as self-appointed leader Frank, is the best of the actors, but his obviously strained relationship with his son Josh (Rhys Wakefield) doesn't provide the tension that one requires. As the multi-millionaire playboy, Ioan Gruffudd (say 'Griffith") seems to have lost his way, content to merely shout his way through his scenes as if bluster automatically equates to emotion.  


Make no mistake, under director Alistair Grierson, Sanctum is marvelously shot. In particular, there's an early sequence in which we are afforded a bird's-eye view of the gaping mouth of the cave, looming like some giant catchment tank in the midst of the tropical jungle. For such a large system, in such a location, the cave is inexplicably devoid of wildlife, and this pristine nature leaves the movie feeling even more artificial, like a massive soundstage (which it almost certainly was).


Sanctum may well be one of those movies where a DVD viewing may be more in order, where the additional manipulation available may relieve the tedium of the action.