Sanctum


3/4

Starring: Richard Roxburgh, Rhys Wakefield, Ioan Gruffudd, Alice Parkinson

Rated R for Language, Some Violence and Disturbing Images

It’s so rare that we get a straightforward adventure movie.  Sure, there are “action adventure” movies, but those are more about fight sequences and explosions than the perils of the journey.  Not so with “Sanctum,” a film executively produced by the king of the movie world, James Cameron.

A team of cavers is being funded to find a way through the last unexplored cave system in the world.  Led by expert caver Frank (Roxburgh), things seem to be going well until a storm traps Frank and a few other cavers miles below the surface.  Now it’s them against the elements, and no one knows what lies ahead…or if any of them will ever live to see daylight again.

Comparisons to Neil Marshall’s 2005 shocker "The Descent" are impossible to ignore, but the reality is that apart from stories about cavers, they have almost nothing in common.  “Sanctum’s” closest sibling is “Vertical Limit,” “Casino Royale” director Martin Campbell’s 2000 action flick.  The two films share many of the same elements: an arrogant businessman who is tagging along, a familial relationship that is put to the test, the struggle against the elements, just to name a few.

From a visual perspective, the film is truly amazing.  Director Alister Grierson captures both the immensity and the claustrophobia of caving, and he’s adequate at generating suspense.  Unfortunately, his talents do not extend to character development.  Due to poor scripting problems and ineffective direction, character development is anemic.  Fortunately, the cast has talent and charisma to pick up the slack somewhat.

Richard Roxburgh is most famous for playing the jealous Duke in “Moulin Rouge,” but he’s so different in his role as the aloof and gruff Frank that it’s hard to believe that it’s the same person.  He feels more comfortable in caves than he does in average society, so much so that when someone dies, he accepts it and moves on with little or no emotion.  Despite the horror of some of the other characters, this is one of the film’s smartest moves.  Accidents happen, and there’s nothing else to do but accept it and move on.  Rhys Wakefield is also very good as Josh, Frank’s estranged son.  Frank is unreasonably tough on him, and was non-existent in his son’s life when he was growing up, something that Josh holds against him.  But in their life and death struggle, they finally have a chance to bond.  Ioan Gruffudd is convincing as Carl, the arrogant financier, but Alice Parkinson is flat as Victoria, Carl’s girlfriend.

I didn’t have a chance to see it in 3D, which despite being made like that from the ground up, got mixed reviews.  Even without it (or perhaps because of it), “Sanctum” is a fun adventure.

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