Step 1: Don’t cave dive. Sanctum pretty much dashes any dreams I may have had of becoming an underwater cave diver. There’s no way in hell I’m going to do THAT now that I know how dangerous it can be.
Step 2: Don’t cave dive during a tropical storm. I’m just kidding, but the film certainly details what treacherousness lies beneath the Earth’s surface – in 3D, no less. Based on real events, the story follows a team of underwater cave explorers who are mapping one of the largest, most beautiful and least accessible cave system ever found – the South Pacific’s Esa-ala Caves. When a tropical cyclone topside create flash floods in the caves, however, it suddenly becomes less about exploring and more about surviving. Lead by the intrepid master diver Frank McGuire (Richard Roxburgh), the team – which includes the expedition’s financier and adrenaline junkie Carl (Ioan Gruffudd), his mountain climbing girlfriend Victoria (Alice Parkinson) and Frank’s resentful 17-year-old son Josh (Rhys Wakefield) – must find an alternative route to safety, going deeper into the underwater labyrinth and entering places never meant for human habitation.
Step 3: Don’t cave dive with novices. Who will make it out? That’s what keeps the film’s momentum going. Sanctum plays a little like a disaster film, in which you get a minor amount of back story to the characters before putting them in harm’s way. So, while the dialogue is pretty predictable and cheesy in parts, it’s also easy to overlook once you are caught up in the action and wondering how someone is going to die – or live – spectacularly. There’s also no major stars to get in the way, but there are a few familiar faces, including Roxburgh, an Australian character actor who has played baddies in Moulin Rouge and Mission: Impossible 2. Gruffudd played Reed Richards, aka Mr. Fantastic, from the Fantastic Four movies, while Parkinson starred in X-Men: Wolverine. Only Wakefield is the newbie, a cute Aussie who carries much of the film’s emotional core. The last scene with his dad might bring a tear to the eye. I say might.
Step 4: DO cave dive if James Cameron is involved. The film’s draw is having executive producer James Cameron stamp of approval on it. While he doesn’t direct (that is handled by first timer Alister Grierson), the master visionary touches are still felt, especially in the 3D shots. In general, I’m still sort of mixed on the whole 3D phenomenon, sometimes impressed by the technology but mostly wondering why I have to wear those uncomfortable glasses for a film that could easily have been 2D. But not when it comes to Cameron’s 3D. I mean, Avatar is pretty incredible to watch, so knowing he is involved in Sanctum definitely piques the interest. You won’t be disappointed. There are moments in which you feel you are in those caves, watering splashing on you, stuck in cramped, small spaces. Oh yeah, if you are claustrophobic at all, you might want to avoid the film. In a nutshell, Sanctum isn’t going to set records but for an action thriller, it does its job fairly well.