Director: Alister Grierson

Actors: Ioan Gruffudd, Richard Roxburgh, Rhys Wakefield

1/5 popcorns

 

The only substantial question raised by ‘Sanctum,’ one of the most generic adventure films you might ever see, is: When are audiences going to wake up and reject 3-D when it’s entirely unnecessary? In the case of wondrous fantasy film ‘Coraline’ (2009), 3-D is an almost vital filmmaking device. In an underwater soap opera such as ‘Sanctum,’ in which none of the scenery is pushed toward the viewer’s eyes and the characterization is expectedly dull, what’s the point?

 

Prepare to dive down to one of the world’s least explored locations, the Esa’ala caves in the South Pacific, with the money behind the expedition, Carl Hurley (Ioan Gruffudd), his girlfriend Victoria (Alice Parkinson), and the much younger Josh (Rhys Wakefield). Beneath the earth’s surface, they team up with a well-equipped crew, ready to explore parts of the earth no human has laid eyes on, while Josh gets the opportunity to reconnect with Frank (Richard Roxburgh), his hardcore diver dad.

Astonishingly, nothing plays out according to plan. Not long after the cave is flooded by a monstrous storm, the characters are forced into unimaginable circumstances that incite dissent, greed and fear. Josh and Frank’s bond strengthens as a result of the dire circumstances, which pit them against the elements as they attempt to brave a compartment of the earth that has never housed human beings.

 

‘Sanctum’ was directed by Alister Grierson, but it’s more the product of executive producer James Cameron (‘Avatar’). The film melds Cameron’s two favorite things: oceanic exploration and 3-D technology. (Between creating ‘Titanic’ and ‘Avatar,’ Cameron directed two 3-D deep sea documentaries, ‘Ghosts of the Abyss’ and ‘Aliens of the Deep.’) Similar to his prior experiments with 3-D, ‘Sanctum’ is bogged down by uninteresting characters, a terrible script and mediocre acting. It’s not as awful as ‘Avatar,’ but only because it’s not as obnoxious. 

 

As in Cameron’s ‘Avatar,’ interesting settings can’t compensate for lack of requisite character development and amateurish storytelling. The damaged relationship between Josh and his father occasionally feels genuine but otherwise is simply uninspired. Despite inheriting a fascinating setting for his semi-autobiographical story, Grierson doesn’t experiment with the scenery whatsoever, favoring instead to focus on a very conventional story. Lingering shots of the majestic caves would have been far more interesting than the characters’ emotions.

 

The caves are certainly the most fascinating aspect of the production, but Grierson doesn’t dare to be much of an explorer. (Isn’t that the director’s job, though?) Not only is Grierson ignorant of the characters’ potential, he takes the marvelous setting for granted. Grierson does not remotely exercise the advantages of 3-D, even while the beautifully angular and foreboding caves beg to jut out through the viewer’s glasses. In Grierson’s film, the caves are compressed and flattened, leaving the viewer to quietly hope for stalactites to stab at them in their comfortable seats in the theater. 

 

‘Sanctum’ is a film about survival, the type Cameron particularly enjoys, whether it be Sarah or John Connor evading the Terminator, Ellen Ripley outlasting the Alien, or Jack and Rose holding onto the sinking Titanic for dear life. In this most recent production, however, it is the viewer who should be congratulated for surviving.