Murderous CGI sharks chew on old friends’ limbs in yet another unimaginative thriller featuring the final screen performance of respected actor Julian Sands. The Last Breath simply doesn’t seek to rise and exceed the restrictions of being an ordinary inexpensive indie with a regular roster of one-dimensional, stock characters. Barring that, however, Swedish filmmaker Joachim Hedén tries functional anatomy by virtue of his sufficient underwater genre’s understanding making the endeavor shallower in quest for dollars but broader in conception. Towards this line, The Last Breath’s cinematography and editing is commendable however the generic screenplay has little in the line of plot twists. It is not hard to guess who will not be coming back on the next boat ride.
In 1944, the movie begins with a German U-boat firing a tuber at USS Charlotte which is located in the Caribbean. In the attack some of the sailors survive but in a very horrific manner as they remain afloat in wreckage. In current times, Captain Levi (Sands) and his first officer Noah (Jack Parr) are ridiculed by a passing luxury liner for their hopelessness. He has devoted decades of his life trying to track down the Charlotte. Like it was so designed, as if on cue, on his next dive Noah demonstrates an amazing ability. The two men are excited to say the least. They have visions of glory and wealth but suggest that the ship be reported and researched first.
But when Noah’s friends come to a nearby cuntto on an island to drink and hold a party, Noah can’t keep the big secret while at the beach getting drunk and stoned that night. One of Noah’s acquaintances who is an influencer on social media cries to them to go down and look for the wreck but Levi scornfully refuses her. This situation however changes when Brett pulls out his check book and has a discussion with Levi about using the boat as collateral to finance other loans. The group has no sober morning, the previous night was the last class on consequences of an alcohol consumption. The dream of an intriguing exploration converts to blood curdling shrieks as inhabitants of the waters around and in the Charlotte begin to make themselves known.
The Last Breath presents the best friends as competent divers but rather overconfident. Noah gives instructions on the way they can board the ship. They are provided with rules, magnetic lamps, and radio headsets but of course the radio communication system has lost touch with the ship. Still not over the fact that the last two movies by Hedén, Breaking Surface, and The Dive were also shot under the water, he does not joke about important scuba stuff. He intends for the viewers to comprehend that they are not just slashing the characters down the cliff like greenhorns.
The plot is downhill when the characters are bound by the willing embrace of stupidness in a scenario where the need for logic and experience should be the order of the day. It is not really as desperate as running around in circles forever trying to find some boughs to line the shelters with but it gets pretty darn close to this. How come they do not come out when almost everyone is that low on air is a dumb question. The saying that there is safety in numbers has also been used in very unsuccessful expeditions. The screenplay feeds them their own vanity which is the cue to the now ravenous sharks.
In ‘The Last Breath’, pirana – or any other bloodthirsty predators, do not swarm over and devour the blood. As they serve to add suspense into the proceedings, Hedén spends more time looking down the dark corridors of the USS Charlotte. He however announces when the game is afoot with clamorous bangs and eerie dark figures. The audience has been alerted that the buffet is about to begin. Why make the sharks strike out of nowhere just to cause a real jump-scare effect? Turning a Corner in the Storm didn’t have all action sequences requiring a strategyrechercher to be set up in an earlier portion of the movie. All the foreshadowing wastes potential scares. One in particular will have been terrific, if only you had not already guessed it from a mile away thanks to the advance publicity.
As for the sharks, they are computerized and do not appear so much credible. These are gray objects on a black backdrop with no long shots or close-ups, period. There are normally some intrinsic shortcomings, but these are mostly typical. However the slick camerawork of Hedén and the gory aftermath do help somewhat. They come and go in flashes with meat and human entrails left hanging around a bloody cloud. The only little appetite that does exist comes from the hope of sharks still being in the vicinity, but only for seconds. But once again, the film does not even bother with the more adventurous option. They definitely are coming in sometime for a kill.
The Last Breath was allowed a chance for ways to go outside of the normative. Each character who appears to be jerky is devoured. And the creation of the characters by scriptwriters Andrew Prendergast and Nick Saltrese is risk-free. Would it have been a cardinal sin to have the sweet and caring stuff crushed into the first course? There is no such thing as a spay shot, so the nice guys need not lose.
There is one particular aspect of the production design that sticks out but for negative reasons. The USS Charlotte has spent 80 years underwater but although the vessel is inside the water, there is no rust, no silt, no barnacles and nor any organic matter. There is a silly story which is given that is totally unbelievable. The Last Breath, though not a terrible film, cannot be recommended as it is simply too variable.
The Last Breath is produced by Anamorphic Media, Filmgate Films, Freebie Films e.t.c. and Dome TV. It has recently been released on the VOD platform & given in limited theatrical release by RLJE Films.
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