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Overall Rating : 6/10
Directed By : Hans Horn
Susan May Pratt (10 Things I Hate About You)
Richard Speight Jr. (Demonic Toys)
Niklaus Lange
Cameron Richardson (Supercross)
Supplied By : Lionsgate Films
Film Reviewed By : Rick L. Blalock
Date Reviewed : Feb. 6, 2007
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| PLOT Based on a harrowing true story about a weekend cruise aboard a luxury yacht that goes horribly awry for a group of old high school friends who forget to lower the ladder before they jump into the ocean for a swim. The boat proves impossible to climb, leaving them adrift, miles from shore. As the reality of the situation sinks in, the friends begin to turn on each other. Soon the exhaustion of keeping afloat and the struggle to get back on board begin to take a terrible toll. What started as a joyful reunion becomes a fight for survival! |
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| THE REVIEW In OPEN WATER 2 : ADRIFT, the sequel to OPEN WATER, we are faced with a similar scenario with a twist. A group of high school friends reunite for a getaway on a yacht supposedly owned by Dan, one of the friends. Among them are Amy with Husband James and their baby Daughter Sarah, couple Lauren and Zach, and Dan's Girlfriend of all of 2 weeks Michelle. Besides the purpose of fun the friends are there to also together to celebrate Zach's 30th birthday, and also as a means for everyone to meet Amy's Husband James and little Sarah. Before long, at the suggestion of Michelle the group goes out for a swim in the beautiful water. But they forgot something... they forgot to lower the ladder for them to get back aboard the boat. This proves to be a grave mistake for the friends as the boat is too high to climb, and the find themselves virtually with no place to go, and fatigue setting in quickly. as the movie progresses along, the group grows tired, and all of their ideas they come up with in trying to get on the yacht seem to fail and so does the group's cooperation with one another as tension between them builds. Over the course of their struggle, some do not last, and in the end it is up to Amy, a woman whom as a child lost her Father in a drowning accident, rendering Amy to be deathly afraid of the water ever since - to face her fear in her will to get out alive for her as well as her Daughter Sarah's sake. First things first, I will be the first to tell you that I absolutely hated the first OPEN WATER - when some people thought it was fresh, new and shocking, I thought it was pretty dull and boring to be honest. The first OPEN WATER was shot in a way to look documentary like and authentically "real life", to me it didn't really feel authentic, but rather unbelievable - the characters in it had no depth, and there was really no build up for them, for a viewer to care at all for their survival later on - it was just two people floating around in the water for almost two hours.... it was exhausting to say the least. This time around OPEN WATER 2 : ADRIFT, takes a entirely different filming approach, as instead of looking like a documentary. it looks like a film. Also instead of 2 seemingly one dimensional characters we have a group of characters in this one that are all diverse and different in their own way, and this in my opinion makes the film far more interesting than the last one - as they fight to survive the different personalities clash, causing the viewer to become curious as to how they all will coexist with each other. We watch as the friends brainstorm for ideas on just how they are going to climb back into the boat, from trying to scale the flag hanging down from the boat, fetching a cell phone and even from everyone removing an article of clothing in order to make a rope - everything they try seems to fail. Now i'm not saying that OPEN WATER 2 is the most exciting and enjoyable film I have ever sat down and watched - it does get sort of repetitive after awhile watching them fail so many times to reach a boat(and you often find yourself, asking "who would be so stupid to go for a swim and forget to lower the ladder in the first place?), but in my opinion it has a lot more going for it than the original film had - more meaningful angles(husband and wife, AS WELL AS, it being someone's Birthday), to more victims to create more problematic scenarios, and even a little heart - as both Amy and James (whom hear their crying baby from a nearby baby monitor) fight to come out alive. Overall, I really did like OPEN WATER 2 : ADRIFT, and it is even a shock to me - as I did not believe I would. The film although straight to video, seems the more theatrical of the two OPEN WATER films and in my opinion, should have played in theaters nationwide - but possibly due to the original basically not doing as well as it was hoped to do, ADRIFT really had no chance. |
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| GORE
METER 1/10 The only thing close to gore in this film is an accidental stabbing and a cut hand, that is all, but then again, this wasn't supposed to be gory. |
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| MUSICAL
SCORE 4/10 The score is nothing great, but it does the job - a few Caribbean tunes, mixed with the typical suspenseful score you'd expect. |
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| OVERALL
IMPRESSION OF THE FILM OPEN WATER 2 : ADRIFT to put it simply, is a film I didn't expect to like. It is for the most part a sequel that shouldn't have been made, but I am glad it was, as it gives the title "OPEN WATER" a little hope - if they do make more films to follow this one, at least now i'll have something to look forward to. The story is more interesting, with pretty good, and likeable performances by the cast....I recommend! This DVD will be released on February 20, 2007 |
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