A Hole By Any Other Name is Still A Hole
The Film
Karen Dahlstom's review of Sanctum pretty much hit the stalagmite on the head, but I disagree with her on one point; there was some suspense -- It was suspenseful waiting to see how all of the annoying characters were going to die. The studio deserves some of the blame for this dreadful film because it played up the "James Cameron" angle so much that people were expecting a cross between the Abyss (the greatest underwater film ever made) and Avatar. Director Alister Grierson delivered a cross between The Descent and Deep Blue Sea. The film lost money domestically and if not for the foreign box office, it would have been a major loser at the box office.
Notwithstanding the film's poor use of 3D, its biggest crime was that the bad guy, billionaire playboy Carl (Ioan Gruffudd), wasn't really that bad. Does he make an effort to be a team player for most of the story? Sure. Does he have some evil plan concocted to screw over the surviving members of the team? Nah. Is he intensely annoying with his video camera? Absolutely. He even cries hysterically when (SPOILER ALERT) his girlfriend plummets to her death, so it's hard to get excited when (SPOILER ALERT #2) the lone surviving member of the team swims past his drowned corpse.
The film's dialogue isn't any worse than most of the garbage coming out of Hollywood these days, so it's hard to get bogged down on that issue. The location of the film is breathtaking; it's just too bad that you have to hold your breath watching it in 3D. Most disappointing film of the year for me so far.
The Picture
The Blu-ray 3D isn't a terrible transfer by any stretch of the imagination; it's clearly one of the better looking live action films in 3D so far, but it's also remarkably inconsistent. Black levels range from excellent with decent levels of shadow detail present to very average; which is really disappointing in a film that takes place inside a cave. The color palette is muted, and nothing really pops off the screen -- not even in 3D. The outdoor shots at the beginning of the film are fine, but once the camera disappears into the tight spaces below the surface, the detail and clarity suffer. Most of the shots are close-ups or midrange and you can make out more than enough detail. DNR isn't applied too liberally and that's fine from my perspective. The best parts of the film from an image perspective are the underwater shots which (PADI certified diver I am...Yoda voice) look very natural; kudos for getting the lighting right.
The 3D or lack of it, is the most disappointing part of the transfer. It starts off quite strong in the first segment of the film but it doesn't look real from a depth perspective. I can only assume that a lot of work was during post to make it all pop off the screen, which is why it sucks that it looks so fake. Passable but not reference quality at all.
The Sound
The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix is the best part of the transfer; clear and intelligible dialogue (too bad none of it is very interesting), strong LFE content, and a really engaging score to tie things together. Considering the location of the film, one would assume that the surround effects would be the most impressive part of the mix, and while they are very good, they don't get the done job from an immersive perspective.
Have you ever screamed in a cavern? The echo is usually quite impressive and diffuse sounding. Pinpointing its exact location should be quite difficult. The surround mix is way too precise in that regard. I closed my eyes during the film and could point to the source of the echo (the speaker) with ease. It really would have been more realistic and effective had the sound reverberated throughout the room. Overall, the pouring rain and rushing water sound amazingly realistic and help to make the mix quite good overall.
The Extras
Blu-ray 3D titles generally don't come loaded with bonus content so viewers will have to insert the 2D Blu-ray copy to access the plethora of great material that Universal has included. Almost all of the material is offered in HD and looks and sounds quite stellar.
The film's audio commentary with director Alister Grierson, co-writer/producer Andrew Wight, and actor Ryhs Wakefield is clear and concise, offering an explanation of the story, casting, and visual effects work. The chemistry between the three is fine, but it lacks sizzle. It also lacks James Cameron. Hint.
The 47-minute behind-the-scenes documentary is more interesting than the feature film; you really get a sense of how hard it was to shoot the film and how much work went into the project. Is it possible that a 3D documentary about the cave system and the crazy people who cave dive would have been a wiser use of $30 million? Just a thought.
The basis for Sanctum was a real-life adventure (involving Wight) in the famous Pannikin Plain Cave in Australia. The series of underwater caves experienced a serious cave-in and almost killed a group of cave divers; which is the basis for the documentary Nullarbor Dreaming included on the Blu-ray transfer. The real-life story and film are not exactly on the same playing field, but it is rather fascinating stuff to watch and is offered here in SD.
There are also 9 minutes of deleted scenes offered in HD and no explanation is necessary.
Universal has been a big promoter of BD-Live and the pocket Blu app (which gives iPad/Droid/Blackberry users access to more content) which is also part of the bonus material. It's a very solid collection of bonus content and I'm glad I watched it.
Final Thoughts
Sanctum should have been a much better film with James Cameron involved; the 3D effects are not even remotely close to the standard Cameron set with Avatar, and the story limps from cavern to cavern with almost insulting predictability. The film didn't really look that great in the theater so it's probably unrealistic to expect that the Blu-ray 3D was going to be spectacular either. The audio quality and bonus content save this 3D adventure from being a total washout, but I'd have to say I'd still only recommend a rental.
Product Details:
Where to Buy:
| Overall | |
|---|---|
| Video | |
| Audio | |
| Movie | |
| Extras |
