Underwater Doesn't Rise Above Sea-Level

One of my favorite films from back in the day is The Poseidon Adventure. It had the glamour of New Year’s Eve, Shelley Winters and the song you just couldn’t get out of your head Maureen McGovern’s ‘The Morning After.’ At the time, no one had ever seen anything like it in cinema and the film went on to win Oscars for The Morning After and a special award for Visual Effects.

Now, we have Underwater, which in theory sounds like a great premise for a film. What happens when Mother Nature decides she has had enough of humans wearing out their welcome down below? The film starts out promising with an explosive, adrenaline laden opening that takes your breath away. Unfortunately, it goes down hill from there and not even the quirky quips of T.J. Miller and solid acting ensemble led by Kristen Stewart (giving you a edgier knock off of a Sigourney Weaver from Aliens) can not save this film from the depths of the ocean floor. Kristen Stewart is having a wonderful moment in cinema leaving behind her days in the ‘Twilight’ franchise and turning in solid, star turns Seberg, Charlie’s Angels and Lizzie. This film will not hurt her star power and one can only surmise that the premise on paper looked much more exciting and intriguing than what was ultimately shot and released.

Underwater reads like a compilation of films we have seen like the aforementioned Poseidon Adventure mixed with a little Aliens action. In my opinion, the only thing this film got right is addressing the issue of governments drilling in the ocean floor and disturbing the tranquil existence of sea life with no regard except for their own selfish agendas. Kinda like how pollution and the world’s carbon footprint has been ultimately resulted in massive climate change.

At the end of the day, this film misses the mark on many levels and doesn’t rise above sea-level. But, that haircut of Stewart’s might insight a new hairstyling trend. Produced by 20th Century Fox, Underwater slides into theaters on January 10th.