Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A surprisingly intense and gripping film that more than exceeded my expectations, May 26, 2007
After reading the premise of this movie, I just had to see it. Six friends jump off a yacht to take a swim in the ocean, only to realize that they are royally screwed because nobody thought to let the ladder down. In other words, they've jumped in and they can't get up. As one of the characters actually says, the circumstances would be funny if they weren't so serious. Honestly, I expected this to be some kind of B-movie I could laugh at. Instead, it's a polished production, and there's nothing funny about it. You won't be traumatized by any means, but this is one deadly serious film that almost forces you to imagine yourself in the same situation. For me, it was like having claustrophobia out in the middle of the ocean - a weird concept, of course, but that's how it made me feel. I'm really surprised that the film gets so many lukewarm and negative reviews. I found it intense, and I was delighted that things didn't play out the way I expected. The director threw us a curveball at the end, with a pretty ambiguous ending, but after a little thought I can't even criticize that decision, as I believe it ties in with the real story that inspired the film.
A group of old friends get together for a weekend on the high seas, and it looks like a good time will be had by all on board Dan's (Eric Dane) luxurious yacht. (Of course, to really enjoy the cruise, you sort of need to be on the yacht most of the time - aye, that's the rub.) Three guys, three gals, and a baby whose mother has a major water phobia make up the passenger manifest. Some viewers don't seem to like some of these characters, but we really don't get to know any of them intimately before the real drama begins. They're basically just normal people, and that helps put you into the "what would I do in their situation?" mindset.
Let's just look at some of the things we can learn from this movie. 1) If a childhood tragedy has given you a major water phobia, you might want to just pass on the private yacht vacation thing, especially if you have a baby to take care of. 2) Out of every six people, at least one of them is the kind of jerk who will try to cure a friend's fear of the water by picking her up and jumping into the ocean with her. 3) This one's really important - don't forget to let the ladder down before you and everyone else on board go for a swim in the ocean because you cannot get back up on the yacht without said ladder. 4) In this kind of dangerous situation, don't fight over the very sharp knife. 5) When "nuding up" to make a rope out of your clothes, let the lightest person - not the biggest guy - try to climb up the "rope" first. 6) When desperately trying to get back to the surface after a dive, watch your freakin' head. 7) When facing such a "what a stupid way to die" situation such as this, you learn a whole lot about your friends.
Open Water 2: Adrift (which is its own film and not a true sequel to Open Water) turned out to be really intense. Desperation comes quickly and only grows as the whole situation worsens. A full 2/3 of this film takes place in the ocean itself. I know you're probably expecting a shark attack to come along at some point - I know I was - but don't be disappointed by the complete absence of deadly oceanic predators in this film. I think a shark attack would have actually hurt the story, as it would have taken something away from the intensely personal tragedy these poor people have to face. With no outside threat to unite against, these characters quickly turn against one another, making their situation even direr in the process. Then you have the sounds of the baby crying every now and again, adding even more to the angst the characters are feeling and emoting, especially the child's mother Amy (Susan May Pratt). Some viewers are going to quibble and go into a "they should have done this or that" kind of mania as they watch the film, but I found it really quite realistic in terms of the situation.
My first reaction to the film's ending was less than enthusiastic - it's one of those "please don't end it like this --- aaaarrgghhh" types of ending. After reading one of the director's comments and taking a few moments to reflect on it, however, I find myself having no problem whatsoever with the ambiguity of that final minute. Not surprisingly, I think this is a great, underrated movie; it certainly exceeded my somewhat low expectations by leaps and bounds.
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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Very realistic for those who live on coastal waters..., February 5, 2008
Thought this movie was quite realistic in its possibilities and speculation about being "Adrift" on the ocean. I can preface this as I have gone 20 miles offshore on the Gulf of Mexico and the engine of our boat failed. Anchor would not hold and GPS was fried. We got extremely lucky, fortunate or blessed as we floated near an offshore oil platform that another boat was fishing. We frantically waved for their aid, and help was rendered as we began our 4 hour tow back to port. Some of you may say, just use your cell phone(DUH?), and we did. But, without the GPS positional coordinates to give to the Coast Guard, we were headed for Cuba on a fast moving current and wind, and could no more tell them where we were than the correct direction in which we were headed. And, YES, saltwater destroys any electronics (a cell phone) that it come in contact with as I have ruined one in the same manner as in the movie.
Anyways, I was a presumptuous, callow, small craft captain that did not plan correctly, just as the character, Dan (the idiot), failed to plan. It happens... You want to take your friends offshore, have fun and impress them. During my ordeal, I accomplished none of these goals and those friends have not spoken to me since I dropped them off at their home 20 hours after we had set out for a great day on the deep, open blue. That was 5 years ago. To say this movie is ineffectual is simply an error in ones personal judgement. I do not really think those who have not ever been out on the OPEN sea in a 30' something craft (not a cruise ship guys) :) , or have ever spent any significant amount of time on the briny water snorkeling, fishing, diving, etc, can truly appreciate what this film is trying to accomplish. You are just not able to appropriately empathize if you have no platform or basis from which you make your judgement of this movie.
I found it quite funny that this movie received a 42% review/approval at rotten tomatoes website, and 'The Descent' (which I had seen just before this film) received an 84% review/approval. I thought 'The Descent' was another very poorly acted, non-scary, excuse movie to get young, hot, dynamic chicks in tight clothing eaten or hacked up in another uninteresting way. The reviews % should be reversed...but, what do I know, right? I also find humor in those who criticize the movie for the "silly" and "unecessary" reaction of the boat party to their impending doom i.e. swimming away and drowing themselves, fighting, not figuring out how to save themselves, etc. I would really like to put the 6 most negative of these reviewers together on that boat, and watch the complete chaos that would ensue. Easy to talk big boy from a computer screen and soft comfy chair about what you would do.
Anyways, I digress and do apologize. 'Open Water: 2' was truly gripping and had me sitting forward on my living room couch for much of the film. My personal experience was truly scary, a lesson learned and a real situation that actually had me contemplating and reflecting on my own possible demise while drifting helpless with a crew looking to me for answers to their questons that I did not have. This experience I will never forget, and the movie was able to reopen those indelible memories, fraying my nerves and making me shudder, once again. I thought the movie was quite well acted and portrayed, and I was moved emotionally...
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13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Better Than the First, March 29, 2007
This is a thematic sequel to Open Water. In this film, a group of friends are out on a yacht when some of them decide to go swimming. One of the people who stay on the boat is deathly afraid of water due to a childhood trauma. She puts on a life vest as soon as she exits her car even though the water is more than a hundred yards away. Also on board are the woman's baby and her ex. The ex is the cause of much of the later trouble. Soon, through a twist of fate, all the adults are in the water leaving just the baby on board. It is then that they realize they have no way of getting back on the boat.
Most options are tried for getting back on board although maybe not in the order the viewer will think of. The ladder is not down, the anchor is not down, and the sides are too high to reach. At one point I did have to ask myself why the heaviest person was making the attempt at one point). All options are tried and they fail in believable ways. The real trouble comes from the fighting and bickering that springs up. Why is the captain too stupid to make sure the ladder is down (it's believable)? Eventually bad things begin to happen due to tiredness and carelessness. People begin to die. The story that progresses is tenser and better presented than in the first movie.
Unlike in the first movie, we see how situations work out. In the first movie there was a scene where a boat was coming at them and they start to wave but then the film jumps time and we don't know what went wrong , only that something must have. In this movie all threads are followed through. My only real problem was that when blood was in the water it never drew any predators (and it was in the water in quantity for hours). But other than that I found this film much better than the first (although it had the opportunity to learn from the first one). If you like tense survival films you will probably like this one. Check it out.
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