Imagine seeing a ginormous ship cruising toward you as you lie there on the beach. The initial burst of adrenaline fuses with the spike in anxiety. You're mindblown by the sheer absurdity and grandiosity of such a thing happening. You're mesmerised to the point you feel as if you may not be able to move out of the way before it hits you, because you're captivated, staring in awe. Then it hits. The ship ploughs into the sand, anchoring itself on a beach where people were soaking in the sun. But then, that's it... Once the ship hits, it's over. The spectacle instantly begins to fade, and the anxiety riddled moments prior feel devalued. Suddenly it's a week later, and the ship is nothing but a distant memory you bring up to spice up a dying conversation.
That ship, is sadly the vehicle in which Sam Esmail finds his film sinking. The entire time the ship is cruising toward the beach, you're fully invested, but as soon as it arrives, the whole experience feels like a lie, a cheap trick. You still appreciate the initial feeling, but the overall lacklustre feeling of its ending is too overwhelming to ignore.
Now, all ship metaphors and allegories aside, I found myself fully invested in the slow burn build up, courtesy of the tightly wound, realistic, intimate, deeply human approach to an apocalyptic thriller, and the spellbinding cast spearheaded by a breathtaking Julia Roberts and a captivating Mahershala Ali. The psychological aspects at play, centred around the human condition, trust, and the mental toll of losing the rose tinted glasses we've been conditioned to wear, were all major positives for me.
While limited in action, each of the set pieces is remarkably well constructed, employing immersive and intense thrills with ease. The tesla pile-up scene was brilliant, as was every plane plummeting to land.
The further the film descends into the narrative, the more forceful its messaging becomes, and the more narrative elements it tries to introduce, the more it unravels itself, until it finally reaches the anti-climax, destroying all that came before it with a rushed, underwhelming ending.
7/10
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