Sanctum 3D is first and foremost just a fantastic barrage of visual stimulus – let’s give it that. Thousand foot views, ripples of water within water with a distortion of right side up – it just looks fantastic. The problem is – it isn’t anything you couldn’t see at your local Science Center’s IMAX. Despite its amazing ocular appeal (and yes the 3D looks good, but only at first. We’ll get to that.), the human drama element of this ‘inspired by true events’ movie leaves you distant and cold. You want to feel for this band of spelunking mavericks but they make it very hard with the characters delivered.
Sanctum is the ‘inspired by’ true events story of a team of cave explorers looking to map and complete a journey through earth’s largest unexplored cave. Starting with a monstrous crater at its entrance, the cave goes some 10 miles through and under the earth and exits into the ocean. As luck would have it (and oh so clichéd) a freak and monstrous storm comes through the region pouring massive amounts of water into the cave and trapping the crew inside. Forced to rely on only a few tanks of oxygen and a drive to stay alive, they continue through the cave system to find the exit they’ve so desperately been trying to map since the six week expedition began.
Richard Roxburgh (Mission Impossible 2) leads the cast as a veteran diver and cave explorer. I loved his performance. It may have been related to the characters he’s played in the past, but his portrayal was 100% believable as the ultimate realist in their dire situation. Making tough and unpopular decisions, understanding the dynamic of the group and the uniqueness of their predicament, all the while managing it and keeping them alive, he was spot on – even at his finest hour in the film. The same can’t be said for relative newcomer Rhys Wakefield (TV’s Home & Away) portraying his son. A mediocre rebellious teen when we’re introduced, he turns into a whiny child by act two. By act three it isn’t believable that he truly understands what his father was trying to impart about the dangers of cave diving. I’d blame bad writing, but when you stop and think about the believability of a character, while you’re watching the character, then you know it’s the actor.
As for the 3D, it really seemed as though I grew a tolerance to it over time because I’d swear the 3rd act had no 3D. This ‘testimony to the human spirit’ film comes up short for me. Cameron’s work and research with underwater gear and cameras is nice, but if you saw 1989’s ‘The Abyss’ which Cameron himself directed, you’re not seeing anything new. From a production perspective, Cameron has brought us films like Point Break (1991) and Strange Days (1995) one of my favorites – but this effort seems more a use of his skills and technology and less about his money power (is that why Lightstorm Entertainment had no mention? It’s Cameron’s film company).
In the end, you’re seeing an amazing Science Center IMAX movie that dabbles in human drama and forces you to muddle through it just to see more of this inner cave in 3D. Whatever you do, don’t Google the true version of the story – you’ll get a pretty good idea of what the term ‘dramatic license’ really means.
3 Stars Out Of Five.
Sanctum is rated R for language, some violence and disturbing images. Running Time: 109 minutes
