Sanctum, Rectum, apparently the same thing. For those of you that thought Titanic was the best movie ever, you will love this film. A film that makes me want to puke as it is so baddly done, and claims to have had a script, which I don't think it did.

lack of depth in concept. lifeless characters. poorly narrated. outdated camera movements and screenplay makes sanctum a hell of a movie. only saving grace is slick visuals in the movie.

Well this is a hit or miss for most. Either it will grab you in or it will spit you out. The effects/scenery is pretty darn cool but thats really about it. The acting I found somewhat cheesy and overblown but for the most part it entertained. I cant say it was great nor terrible but its half and half for me.

For what it's worth, I was on the edge of my seat for the entirety of the second half of this film. Nothing is cheap about it, but there's just not a ton of substance. It's like a bunch of other movies of this sort that I've seen, but it's interesting. And looks terrific. I'd recommend it on a free popcorn night (like tonight was).

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Mother Nature is the monster. No aliens here, just a lot of rain, water made malicious by the forces of the cosmos, and then, gravity. Besides, what would aliens be doing in a cave system anyway? It's a question that Neal Marshall's "The Descent" never answers. Think about it. These extra-terrestrials travel all those miles, galaxies upon galaxies, to conquer...caves. Why caves? Now here comes "Sanctum". In the case of the diver team spelunking around the Papua New Guinea subterranean passageways of Esa Ala, a griping teenaged boy's cry of "Why caves?" to his explorer father gets a full explanation, but alas, Josh(Rhys Wakefield) must have a short memory, since he forgets the musings put forth by the expedition team's bank roller, prior to the hierarchical killings. (Naturally, the indigenous crew member dies first.) Carl(Ioan Grufudd) tries to justify his father's unconventional life, which took him away from home in long stretches. He says, "Your old man is like Christopher Columbus, or Neal Armstrong," later adding that "there's nowhere else on the planet left to explore." Apparently, these great men, these iconoclasts of history, make no impression on Josh. (Does he even know who these men are?") With their lives hanging in the balance, the historically-challenged boy unloads all of his daddy issues on Frank(Richard Roxburgh) at the most inopportune time, whining like an overgrown baby about his father's chronic absenteeism, when his main concern should involve staving off imminent death from the infiltrating water that threatens to turn the caverns into watery graves. Such is the fallacy of the filmic world, where time compression creates a juxtaposition encompassing personal matters with the visceral physicalities of the moment, the latter which should have everybody's full attention, but doesn't, in which the secondary goal of reconciliation is poised to overtake the primary goal of survival. Fighting off mental and physical exhaustion, Frank, in response to his son's bad parenting diatribe, gets his metaphors mixed up, by comparing the cave to a church, and the cave system to religion, when in fact, caverns such as the Esa Ala, and others of its ilk, which took the veteran explorer away from his wife and child over the years, seems more like a mistress, and his penetration of her stone walls, an affair. Frank's church is like something out of the Flannery O'Connor novel "Wise Blood", because it's a "Church Without Christ". "No god down here. We're just bits of dust passing through," says Frank(an Aussie Hazel Moates) to his only parishioner, "The Son Who Grew Up Without A Father", in between the deaths of their fellow divers, George(due to decompression sickness) and Victoria(on account of her stupidity), whom neither father nor son properly mourns like real people would. As a leader of men, Frank sucks. Despite his reputation of being a great man, Frank puts his whole crew in mortal danger right from the start, when he wrongly predicts that the machines will warn its monitoring subordinates of any oncoming flooding. The shouting obscures his incompetence. Frank's in charge, not his underlings, and yet he allows Judes(Allison Cratchley) to dive without a backup tank. It's Frank's job to neutralize her persistence with some persistence of his own. Following the drowning, Josh criticizes him, and instead of taking it like a man, he implicates his son in the accident, citing how the boy didn't procure those extra tanks like he asked. Even worse, he allows Victoria(Alice Parkinson) to swim without a wet suit. The novice diver(and Carl's girlfriend) insists that she'd rather be "cold and alive than warm and dead," when she refuses to wear Judes' gear. During their post-mortem(following Victoria's where she sacrifices herself for the greater good), Josh call his father a "heartless bastard", but after a couple of minutes, they're hugging; they patch things up, right after Frank earnestly compares his passion to a religion, and for some asinine reason, this seems to satisfy Josh. Forgiveness should be doled out incrementally, but "Sanctum" treats their reconciliation, as it does everything else, like a plot point, as it marches forward into the abyss of formulaic filmmaking.… Expand

The swarm of negative reviews should warn potential viewers. Without the 3d effects we're left with something akin to the old Saturday morning kids adventure flicks. It is really hard to imagine that this came from the same creative mind as Avatar. It's so cheesy, such wooden acting and stilted dialogue. Best unintentionally funny line - "I'm not wearing the wet suit of a dead person!" So there. Maybe if you could actually care about the characters it could have generated some emotional involvement. Only saving grace, some native folks got paid for working on this abysmal production.… Expand

This movie is nothing but visuals. We live in an age where visuals are simply supposed to look that good anyway, its like a standard. It was a real upset of a movie in comparison to what James Cameron has done in the past. (Whether you liked his movies or not, it makes no difference) Although I do say that lame stories are kind of a specialty of him, just like Sanctum was. 2/5

This is a variation on the people-in-peril plot. These people are deep inside the earth in an amazing maze of caves and subterranean lakes, when a flood forces their hike out. Tight squeezes and narrow escapes are tense enough, but it's the spectacular scenery and stunning cinematography that make this a standout (the non-optional 3D doesn't really add much). The only downside is the dreadful drama that clogs the pacing. Otherwise, the visuals and effects are remarkable.… Expand

Note: This is identical to my review of this movie on Rotten Tomatoes. So here it is: This movie was a surprisingly good one. Now I have to say around the first half hour of the film the dialogue is pretty bad. There is a hell lot of swearing and in reality nobody would really curse that much. But after the cheesy half hour ends and the real movie kicks in it's actually pretty decent. The 3D in the film is better than most I should say. Since it's by James Cameron. Now to state my opinion I have to say this movie was better than Avatar for me. The story of Avatar was bad even though I liked the film. But if the dialogue wasn't so cheesy in this film then the story would get perfect marks. Now the characters are sort of one dimensional but as the movie swiftly improves they become more realistic. And that's what makes this film so good. I went to see this last night on my birthday party with three of my mates and they said they really liked the film. Now I liked it a lot too. The reason being is that the start of the film you're probably thinking, "Oh hurry up already I want to see the action!", or something like that. And by the end of the film you would be completely satisfied. Because that's exactly what you get. Now I'm not going to spoil anything here but all I'm saying now is that there is one survivor. And I don't know why but I sort of knew that there would a sole survivor so during the film I was thinking, "Who's going to escape safely?", and you're probably going to be thinking that as well. So in other words this film is somewhat suspenseful. Now I'm running out of things to say here so here's the rest. Since the movie is in 3D, and the 3D is the best 3D I've seen in ages, the film sort of drags you in with the divers. You feel so claustrophobic during the underwater escape scenes and by the time the movie ends not only the survivor gets a huge breath of fresh air but so do you. You feel so relived and happy for the character by the end of the film so by the end you'll probably be thinking, "That was worth it!", and you'll probably never forget it. Another thing I should note that the film actually seems much longer than it actually is. Instead of being one hour and forty five minutes to me it actually seemed like two hours and forty five minutes. So time doesn't actually fly when you're having fun. It slows down a bit. And well that's the reason I had a hell lot of fun with this movie! So to say what's left I have to say the film is beautifully photographed and filmed. The film looks brilliant. It's graphics and effects are just amazing. But that's not really surprising since this is made from the guy who made Avatar right? So to end this review I'm giving this movie an 8/10 for it's brilliant scenery, effects and tension but also for it's cheesy dialogue and slightly cardboard characters. So that's my review for Sanctum 3D and this is Mewtwo465 saying goodbye!… Expand

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. From the very beginning you ask yourself: what is at stake here ? Exploring a cave that really nobody gives a rat's ass about, where is the pressure ? If it takes them ten years to explore it, still nobody cares. The death of the first diver is announced twenty minutes before it is actually happening. Since the rest of the script is not much better, this small flaw fits right in. By the way, a storm or cyclone does not surprise anyone for the last I would say 25 years. Satellites can track these things pretty accurately - how believable is it that a well-equipped expedition does not seem to have access to local weather data, and is actually surprised by a major cyclone ? All the drama never seems real, because it isn't: it is caused by the utter stupidity of these so-called professionals. All the yelling and screaming makes things seem even more out of control, but do not add an ounce to the quality of this flick. The name James Cameron appears in the opening title credits...hard to believe !… Expand

I don't understand the low scores, it seams like the user score people were blind and thought this was avatar 2 and given that loads of people found the hurt locker better then avatar well....clearly I'm blind. Good film, waited for the blu-ray so I didn't know what to expect, thought it was going to contain more about the earths crust but then disaster happens. But yeah not a bad film. Not amazing but pleased I bought it as it's a film I will watch again. People say dodgy camera movements but I think they were watching a different film. The reason I gave it a 7 is because it strayed off from the opening story however it kept me entertained so my review score is still ok. Good film!… Expand

A visual treat this one, especially in 3-D. Sanctum is a brilliant looker. The movie wants you to be in the cave with them. It works. It makes you feel like you're one of the divers on this expedition. It tries to show you the unpleasant and the pleasantness of underwater cave diving. It works. The script was written by the leader of a cave diving expedition which was the inspiration of Sanctum. James Cameron didn't want a script writer without experience of the subject, neither did Alister Grierson. But the script... Oh dear god! That was terrible. Cliched and rubbish are two words to describe it. The acting worked some of the time, but it just mainly fails. The characters are boring but Ioan Gruffurd's character is the worst. His character, Carl Hurley is just badly sketched. The pacing was too slow. It's only about half the length of Avatar, but it felt much longer than it. When Frank was dying, I had to go to the toilet. I was there for about 2 minutes. When I came back, he was still dying and one minute later he died. If you want to watch the movie, remember to look, not to listen.… Expand

Awesome show... If you like outdoors or rock climbing you will love it. Thought the movie was way intense. Only problem is that the "true story" part is pretty far fetched.

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. To wit, stick that camera down an aquatic cave, wrap a paper-thin plot around it, slap the whole thing up on an IMAX screen and call it a movie. More truth in advertising: Call it a lame movie.… Expand

what a Terrible Movie. Waste of 11.00 dollars. James Cameron should be a shame of putting his good name on this awful movie. I voted it a 0. movie was east to predict the out come

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Aside from assisted suicide, mercy killing, unwarranted profanity (including what must be considered excessive use of the F-word), heresy, atheism, blasphemy,a weak script, disconnected acting, and technical errors, Sanctum has little to recommend it to discerning moviegoers. George, all bloodied and suffering from an earlier bout with the bends, looks like he has minutes to live. But he must be killed "mercifully,' which act we are forced to watch as he dies most unwillingly. The tough, sometimes driven father bids his son, who earlier in the film would have gladly murdered the old man, now does so reluctantly. An experience diver panics uncharacteristically. And we are privileged to watch all these shenanigans in glorious underwater 3D. It doesn't help.… Expand

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Although " Sanctum " ( 3-D / IMAX ) has lovely scenes of back light divers, and huge blue-light caves, the film's dialogue collapses in the very first sentences, with the audience laughing at all the wrong parts ;
A -la " Catwoman ."

Added to this sloppiness are a non-stop series of gruesome close up, drawn out, right-in-your-face deaths. The sheer volume and intensity of these moves this film from a simple "Divers Underwater" movie into the " Rebreather Snuff film " category. In addition, "Sanctum" was filmed it on the cheap. True, the cave set is good, but, I believe the base camp shots within the cave should have used stronger lighting, using a smaller "f-Stop" resulting in everything being in sharp focus for better 3-D effect.

Finally, if your shooting in 3-D, you use it, redlining its capacities. As an example, In the film, there is a distant shot of someone base jumping off a cliff. In 3-D, Anything like this should be seen from "his" viewpoint; standing on the cliff edge, turning away from his smiling friends, then slowllly tilting down, giving a little jump and falling off into space.

Alas, they messed this up too.

Despite the dialogue, I was rooting for this film; maybe they could turn it around but, as the body count mounted I realized they'd just lost it. Leaving the theater, I pondered " why did they made the film" ? True, it's " Based On A Real Event" but so what? Who wants to see this & have it rubbed in their face; whatever possessed them ? A divers " Angela's Ashes?" - Then Why IMAX? Why 3-D ?

Seeing " The Kings Speech next, that gets great reviews . .… Expand

Such a shame Indonesia didn't get chance to watch in 3D, remember James Cameron is the magnet **** yeah Jive!). Surprisingly touching on fatherhood drama and satisfying on visual thrills, but did I mention about ****ed-up script and acting?

I thoroughly enjoyed this show. Being an avid outdoors person, I could relate to the happenings that took place in the movie. I haven't lost any friends, but have been trained in avalanche awareness and have been in areas where the alert level has been high. I have seen them from a distance on multiple occasions and can understand the emotion that was portrayed rather vividly in the world below the surface in Sanctum. If you like wilderness camping and survival you will enjoy and relate to this movie. Although unlikely in most situations, there is a risk involved with any extreme activity and caving definitely fits the potential for extreme activities. Great movie. Definitely worth watching in 3D.… Expand

Terrible. Horrible. Crappy. good- for nothing. waste of time. I didn't realize the height of my folly when i went for this god forsaken film . This is less than pathetic in fact

What can I say about this movie... It is Intersting, but let's face it we were all expecting much better from James Cameron. It has some scary parts and some good ones but I really didn't liked it. It was't a movie that will stay forever in my mind. (Except for the main actor wow good abs).

Someone please tell me why people give other people money to make **** movies like this. I was unbelievably disappointed in this movie, and my expectations were already low. The acting is dreadful, the story is lacking and the 3D, what they advertised the crap out of the movie with was just painful. Don't ever consider seeing this movie, for the sake of your well being, just don't.

A group of people go on an exploration of the biggest cave system in the world and have two days to get out before the area floods. Many people die, leaving only four left. The film is cheesy and the as we go deeper into the cave, every area is dull, looking exactly the same and lavished with unnecessary CGI, something I am not a fan of as a film buff. However, scenes that involve the spectacular 3-D effects make this one of the only reasons to see this movie. In sum, good 3d, mediocre film.… Expand

A very entertaining and beautifully filmed adventure that takes the audience to the inner depths of the earth and primal human fear. Roxburgh gives a strong performance with the newcomer Wakefield by his side. Gruffud gives another over-the-top, campy, downright amateur performance......what else is new? The underwater footage is, as you can imagine, breathtaking (no pun intended). The image quality of the above-water scenes is weak however, but perhaps that is the point? Regardless, this is a fine film that took some undue criticism.… Expand

This movie would have been great if presented for what it actually is: A B movie with fabulous cinematography.... It's claim is that it is based on a true story (two of the only true parts being the cave and a chunk of hair being ripped off from a diver ). God knows I love my horror films but I went into this movie assuming it was a good faith action flick genuinely based on a true story. At 1st, the assumption that this may be real made me feel sick, (regardless of the lack of plot) then after verifying the facts I got somewhat angry but most of all cheated.... Sanctum is nothing more than a beautiful B movie. And should it have been marketed as such would have got a 10 from this writer.… Expand

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Not a terrible story and could've been made into a great movie. Only problem, the relationships and realizations that were supposed to be positive enough to counteract all the grisly deaths as the movie goes on weren't believable. You're just left with a depressingly drawn out movie and a father and son who magically start reconciling their differences after they're forced into the bowels of the cave system.… Expand

Sanctum is a terrible film, It was so boring and barely kept me interested in the story at all. This is very disappointing film and I didnt feel for the characters, The father and son were so annoying always **** at eachother that it got on my nerves. Please dont waste your money on this garbage. I would recommend not seeing this film at all.

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. this is the most horrific, intense, and totally disturbing movie i have ever seen, not one for the faint of heart, or stomach. Frank's spine was slicing through his back when he asked his son to kill him! and Victoria's skin was ripped from her skull when it got caught in the clip. Plus there were at least 6 dead bodies shown, and probably more people died in other parts of the cave. Not something for the faint of heart, the ending is really sad.… Expand

The special effects were good but everything else was awful. For starters the acting was terrible and the characters were boring and uninteresting especially that girl who was extremely annoying and the whole movie I kept yelling "just die already!" SPOILER SKIP TO NEXT PARAGRAPH!!!! When she did die I was so satisfied and happy!! The dialogue was another problem, it was so stupid. Half of the lines that came out of the characters made no sense and were completely unnecessary. Plus at some points in the beginning of the movie it tried to be funny but it wasn't because the jokes were so dumb. The story is based on a true story but it's so horribly told here. It was uninteresting and the pacing was terrible. I know I've been saying a lot of negative things about this movie but there are some positives. The effects are wonderful and it's nicely shot. There were some scenes that were laughably bad too like the end, SPOILER SKIP TO NEXT PARAGRAPH!!!!!!!! where the father is dying and the son has to drown him holy crap that scene was bad. The father kept saying "Help me" while the son was crying and holding his father in his arms. Instead of trying to make this an emotional scene it was laughable it took 5 minutes for him to do it and the acting was so bad during this scene I just kept yelling at the screen, "Just do it already!". This movie had potential given its source material but it squandered it, visually no but everything else yes. The story was horribly told, the acting was awful, the dialogue was stupid, and the characters were boring, annoying and uninteresting.… Expand

Leí algunas críticas destructivas antes de ver la película, sin embargo considero que están bastante erradas. La historia no está tan bien tejida y suele ser exagerada, sinembargo a nivel de aventura es muy entretenida, te produce mucha tensión y creo que desenmascara muchos instintos que tenemos de supervivencia y el egoísmo en el Ser Humano.

SANCTUM is a good movie, but it goes downhill due to terrible 3D, bad acting, cliches, plot holes and a horrible ending. It had potential, but it was then proven to be a money grabbing gimmick.

What a painful movie. Just finished watching it and wish I hadn't. Whatchamacallit green screen is noticeable in some parts, which adds to unrealistic atmosphere. But that's not worst of course, while the main older guy is a great actor, the rest is just forgettable. Some gory/bloody scenes make you flinch and look away instead of bite your nails. Full of painful scenes you just want to skip, and I did.… Expand

This movie isn't a 10 - I'm only giving it that to balance the score because people are hating on this movie for no reason. The acting is kinda cheesy at the beginning but it gets better once the action startes. The 3D is veryy well done and there are some very tense sequences. It's a 7 / 10 for me.

Films like these absolutely MUST present you with characters that you make an emotional investment in. Otherwise, as they start dying off one-by-one, you end up shrugging and checking your watch rather than feeling their terror. See The Abyss for an example of how this is done correctly. The entire cast of Sanctum is so brainless and unlikeable that the entire heart of the film is DOA. It's annoying when the amateurs are still questioning and rebelling against the one guy who knows what he's doing 3/4 of the way through the film when he's been completely right all along. Ugh.… Expand