1. RegOz

   10

   I am very disappointed of people's comments about this movie. Some even compare it with JAWS, which makes no sense, because apart from the fact that both have sharks involved in each story, they are totally different movies. Open Water is a thriller while Jaws is a monster movie -not really horror as many affirm- which attempts to create fear...and to me it fails. I definitely like Open Water much more than Jaws. Jaws was perhaps the first blockbuster. The idea was appealing and with the aid of a mechanical shark that we only see once, creates a feeling of danger. Nonetheless, the story itself is weak, and silly. The performances are feeble. Nobody cares about the characters for they are fake. I remember when I was a child I liked Jaws but recently I watched again and almost felt asleep. There were movies great movies that also involved animals (i.e The Birds) so Jaws has no excuse. Open Water, on the other side, is pure realism! I am an Australian, thus, I always hear stories about sharks. In fact, I know people who continually dive along the Great Barrier Reef. None of them believe the JAWS is a smart movie while they agree that Open Water shows some of the dangers that they as professional divers face in real life. The smallest mistake can change their lives. Moreover, Open Water, goes beyond the issue of sharks. The presence of sharks is indeed an important element of the movie but the core of this film is the situation itself. It is therefore, not a shark movie! This film explores the feelings of those involved in the story and smartly takes us to their world. We see when, how, and why such feelings develop. We feel for them, understand them, and wish we had the ways to help them. Furthermore, the sporadic jokes that the characters make to each other when the the situation becomes clear, and when the tangible threat is perceived, are not stupid; on the opposite, it adds realism. Many of us, under very stressful, desperate, hopeless, and/or frightening, circumstances tend to joke about them; it is a way to cheer us up and distract from those negative feelings; same there. I also love the scene when Daniel starts screaming, what a touching moment! Great performance. It was a totally believable: a desperate yell! There was frustration, despair, anger, sorrow, anguish, desolation; all those feelings together in that particular scene. Powerful! Since the beginning when they are in bed and she is naked, and they are just chatting. It happens to be a very smart scene, for it actually helps to create a feeling of reality and it succeeds; hat is why I don't get why people have issues with that scene. Aren't we naked on a daily basis?. If some didn't understand certain moments or the ending, they may need to watch the movie again and more carefully. If they still don't find the answer,...well, it doesn't mean it is not there, for to many of us the movie is as clear as crystal. Finally, If you haven't watched it, please do it, and take into account what I say, so open your mind to the experience...I don't think you will regret it...and if you do, at least you gave it a go.… Expand

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2. JojoD

   4

   It was slow until they became stranded. That's when we got to see the dynamics of their relationship, It kept getting better until it sank like a stone at the end.… Expand

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3. L.T.Chen

   2

   I can't believe the critics' rave reviews! Yeah, it was free of the usual Hollywood gimmicks; yeah it puts you right in the flippers of the doomed swimmers; yeah it was realistic. But it has ZERO story. Films shouldn't be realistic just to be realistic. Films tell stories. There was nothing in this film I couldn't imagine in my own head or read in a paragraph.… Expand

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