Master diver Frank McGuire (Richard Roxburgh) has explored the South Pacific's Esa-ala Caves for months. But when his exit is cut off in a flash flood, Frank's team—including 17-year-old son Josh (Rhys Wakefield) and financier Carl Hurley (Ioan Gruffudd)—are forced to radically alter plans. With dwindling supplies, the crew must navigate an underwater labyrinth to make it out. Soon, they are confronted with the unavoidable question: Can they survive, or will they be trapped forever?
After a sluggish half hour, this well-crafted adventure kicks into high gear and never lets up.
– Andrea Gronvall,
Chicago Reader,
4 Feb 2011
rotten:
Stick that camera down an aquatic cave, wrap a paper-thin plot around it, slap the whole thing up on an IMAX screen and call it a movie. More truth in advertising: Call it a lame movie.
– Rick Groen,
Globe and Mail,
4 Feb 2011
rotten:
Sometimes the sets look like, well, Styrofoam. So do the actors.
– Peter Travers,
Rolling Stone,
5 Feb 2011
rotten:
Despite the millions clearly poured into it, the film feels cheap and amateurish. See it on IMAX if you wish, but the flaws will only look bigger.
– Rafer Guzman,
Newsday,
25 Feb 2011
rotten:
Its downfall is its cliche-riddled and fusty script.