Review of Open Water 2: Adrift (2006) by Tony H — 26 Mar 2009

A fair movie which keeps the suspense to a subtle level, whilst casting aside several of the pitfalls concerning the making of a teen thriller.

Several...but not all. Firstly, thought there was some low-level character development (and even a couple of occasions when I sympathised with the characters of James and Lauren), on the whole I didn't have any concerns about any individual's welfare come the movie's climax. Secondly, Adrift did seem to stretch a bit towards the end, as though it was trying to surpass the 90 minute mark with insufficient material. I wouldn't claim that a movie primarily about friends trying to get out of the water before driving each other to despair was a simple project, but nor does it justify being sprinkled with irrelevant arguments when more could have been made of the sense of isolation and edginess.