Underwater

Ya we in luck here / Down in the muck here / Under the sea

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Here's what I've been watching and playing over the last seven days...

MOVIES

Underwater

Movie summary: A crew of oceanic researchers working for a deep sea drilling company try to get to safety after a mysterious earthquake devastates their deepwater research and drilling facility located at the bottom of the Mariana Trench. (IMDb)

I had Underwater on my Disney+ watchlist for a while and finally got around to watching it, going in not knowing anything more than the above description really, plus a close-up of Kristen Stewart's face.

My expectations were of a disaster movie set underwater at some point in the future, and that is pretty much what the first part of the film was like.

Then there's a The Descent-style reveal of there being things to watch out for in the water and that's where Underwater really decides to chart the least interesting course possible for the story.

Much like I would've been happy if The Descent had just been about the group of women trying to find their way out of a claustrophobic cave system, I would've been even happier for this film to be about the surviving crew trying to stay alive and reach the surface.

And that's because how Underwater treats this new threat feels like someone copied-and-pasted a lot over from the Alien movies, whereas The Descent turns into a bloody battle of survival and betrayal.

It doesn't help that, despite a decent cast, the characters here are very two-dimensional regardless of the efforts of Stewart and Vincent Cassel to elevate the material, proving the standouts of the movie.

In fact, everything is so predictable that you'll probably guess how Underwater is going to end well before it does - I think I figured it out with just over 30 minutes remaining.

Despite these criticisms, I liked the design of the creatures I was not expecting to see at all, and I really liked the various underwater locations.

Then again, that just made me want to see a live-action SOMA movie and, in all honesty, it wouldn't have taken much to turn this film into a prequel to the game, which would've been a far better idea.

Underwater is... fine, I guess? It certainly is a movie that exists and can be watched, that's for sure - not the worst way to spend 90 minutes, but not the best way either. [5/10]

GAMES

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

I'm getting to grips with the combat more now, making that side of the game a lot more fun, especially when you get that sweet XP bonus for not taking damage in a fight.

As for the story, well.. a 'thing' happened at the end of Act I that I wasn't too fussed about - there's just something not connecting with me here.

Dragon Age: The Veilguard

I could type almost the same thing here as for Expedition 33 - I'm getting used to the more action-oriented combat in this entry in the franchise, but the story still hasn't grabbed me yet.

Also currently playing: Batman: Arkham City, Microsoft Flight Simulator (2020)

TV

Andor, Season Two

Finished for a second time and it's still great.

Here's hoping they put out a 4K set so I can get one to go with the first season - or better yet, both seasons of Andor with Rogue One as a new 'trilogy' set!

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