MovieChat Forums > Open Water 2: Adrift (2006) Discussion > This was NOT a terrible movie; here's w...

This was NOT a terrible movie; here's why.

posted 15 years ago by sessofdarkness
24 replies | jump to latest

I'm only 19 years old, so I understand the a**holes who come in and automatically push aside my opinion. Actually, I don't. What's with this condescending crap I see on these forums everyday? Moving on. I've been watching movies my entire life, I like the deeper meaning movies with fantastic plots and acting like Secretary, American Beauty, Seven, Sergeant York(just showing my range in films) and tons of other classics. But I see absolutely no reason in admitting when I've enjoyed a film that really isn't all too great but looking at it from a realistic(note I said realistic, not believable) point of view and putting myself in their shoes makes it a wild and enjoyable ride. I'm aware a lot of you watch films and critic every second of it, almost forcing yourself to hate every movie until proven otherwise. I'm not talking to you group of people, hope is already lost. I'm speaking towards the reasonable, open minded people who realize an enjoyable film experience doesn't need Academy Award or "sleeper indie hit" attached to it.

The jumping into the water without checking the ladder thing was a completely normal thing to do. You call them idiots, but did YOU think about the ladder until they themselves realized it was missing? I thought not.

Ever lock your keys in the car?
Ever forget to lock your car?
Ever forget to turn the stove off?
Ever forget the water is running in the tub?

Sure all these aren't life threatening, but I'm just trying to get my point across. It's simple, THEY FORGOT. You're on a yacht, you've been drinking, you think it's cool to jump off the boat into the water. It's really not that mind blowing that they forgot the ladder. Even if they did, you'd think a yacht would have a back up plan.

Now I do agree they could have easily come up with more creative ways to get on the boat, especially with the part they had to hold on too, but we had to have a movie didn't we? Ok, so I didn't justify the entire film but I really didn't see a reason too. My main point is that the reason for them ending up in the water wasn't terrible, and if you actually think about what a terrifying experience it would be if you were in their shoes, it's actually scary as hell. 'Course you need a little imagination for that.

[–] lkillen 14 years ago

In my life, I have made all types of mishaps and that is not the point. I read of a couple in the St. Johns river who jumped off their boat for some late night skinny-dipping. They were both married but unfortuantely, not to each other.

The boat drifted down the river faster than they could swim and they never teathered out a lanyard to grab. The St. Johns is wide and they were in the middle of the channel. They struggled for hours to catched the boat which way heading out to sea. Without floatation, they finally researved to swim to shore, which when they go there, it was daylight. The two naked-lovers were picked up by the Jacksonville police and their sailboat was rescued by the Coastguard.

The story made for much better story than this failure. First, it was true, second, they did not do the stupid things these idiots did in spite of the embarrassment and humiliation.

It is not what happened to them that made this movie so bad, it is how they handled it. Once survival is threatened, all pride is dispenced with. Carving up the hurl to re-enter the boat should have never been questioned.

[–] f2039 13 years ago

it wasnt terrible. besides, it doesnt promise something much so you dont watch it with big expectations... i liked open water 2: adrift more than open water

[–] transmentalist 13 years ago

I mostly don't like this flick, but still find it a fascinating study in how stupid characters can be before the movie becomes unbelievable.

I actually agree with a lot of the defenses.

Dan was NOT the owner of the boat; he was a poser pretending to be rich. That means:

(1) he could easily have made a stupid mistake like forgetting to lower the ladder

(2) the others could believably have relied on him to ensure their safety

(3) he was irrationally protective because the boat wasn't his (he even spells this out for us)

Also, Zach was irrational himself, stabbing the boat with the knife (as if it's all the boat's fault somehow). His nutso behavior sparked Dan's hysterical protectiveness (that got Zach stabbed).

Considering this is the same Zach who threw his phone away when the call dropped, his behavior is at least consistent.

But to me, it's unforgivable that they didn't try EVERY possible method, including "throwing" someone up. Yes, there's no leverage in the water, but two large men could at least give one woman a foot or two more lift than she could manage on her own. They should've shown them at least trying.

And yeah, I know hindsight is 20/20, but these people were in the water for HOURS. They had PLENTY of time to try LOTS of different solutions. We only saw them try a few, then collapse into hopeless wailing.

But it was a beautifully shot film, still and all.

[–] altu64 13 years ago

No, jumping into the water is absolutely not the normal thing to do. If they were able to charter that boat, someone should have been an experienced sailor, responsible for everyone's safety, and an experienced sailor would have NEVER had even one person go into the water without the ladder being lowered. Never.

[–] Iceman315 12 years ago

Damn, I am responding to an OLD POST because I just saw this horrible movie. Now, when I say horrible I don't mean "unwatchable." It was a cheesy but semi-entertaining horrible movie. Kind of like those old slasher films like the Friday the 13th movie manhatten, horrible but at least slightly entertaining. You don't go to a movie or walk away from a movie like this "critiquing it." It was a piece of *beep* plain and simple, but it was expected to be a piece of *beep* especially after the first one. Expectations were low going into watching it, and it delivered on the low expectations. Nothing to be pissed off about, nothing to be disappointed about. I agree that the way they ended up in the water wasn't necessarily stupid(actually it was, it was stupid as *beep*) but it was realistic. It happens. I'm sorry but "drinking" doesn't make it "not stupid." It's still stupid, but like I said it was realistic, we humans do stupid things sometimes and stupidly forget things. And depending on the importance of whatever it is that happens will determine how stupid it is. What they did was horrifically stupid....full blown retarded. Losing your car keys and jumping into the water without a ladder cannot be compared, it's like comparing apples with oranges. But the drinking before doing it makes sense....still stupid though...but realistic.

[–] 12 years ago

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[–] staceymusser 11 years ago

Wow, harsh. That's cyber bullying and a legally punishable offense btw. And over a movie no less. I still challenge haters of any movie to try making one yourself. Until you have a movie with better ratings that YOU created, you have no real qualifications to judge. Just my opinion though. None of you are Siskel or Ebert. Get off your high horses and realize no one cares what some underwear-clad desk jockey on Mommy's bandwidth cares about some clearly B level movie. ;)

[–] 11 years ago

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[–] porosus 10 years ago

I agree, just ignore the trolls, they are just cowards behind keyboards.The rest of us just want a place to discuss movies and I liked this one. I have to say that yes, I did think of the ladder before they jumped in, but maybe that's because I'm a worry-wort and like to check precautions before I do something.Once they were in, yes I thought they should have tried the 3 guys boosting a light girl up. Maybe it wouldn't work, I don't know, but it would have been nice to see it attempted at least.Yes, there's the drift factor that has been pointed out, but if we scrutinise every film to realism we wouldn't have a whole lot of movies left to watch! The ending still bothers me, I agree with another poster that it seems like there were two endings and they put them together, I don't think too much of the ghost theory, it doesn't seem to be shot that way.All in all, this was a beautiful looking film that played on my fears of deep water and has me on edge each time I watch it (that's the 4th time that I have watched this, but I'm someone who likes to re-watch a lot of movies)so for a movie where really not much happens, they do a good job of keeping up the drama and making us feel something for these characters. Well done OP, you put a viewpoint on here and didn't insult anyone, don't pay any attention to the ones that do the opposite.