Read Negative User Reviews for All Is Lost

3

SineWaveNov 20, 2013

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Sailors will find this movie ridiculous because Redford plays a character who obviously does not know how to sail or how to react in a sailing emergency. As sailors, we spent the entire movie asking each other, why isn't Redford doing this or that (things a real sailor would know to do). Thus, if you are a sailor, either view the movie as a tragic comedy of errors, or expect to be disappointed. The ending is unclear, which is annoying. This is the first time in a long time that I disagree to such an extent with the professional critics.… Expand

7 of 8 users found this helpful71

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0

roystonDec 31, 2013

Spoiled for me a former yachtsman) by lack of authenticity. Use of sextant impossible to find position that way. Hole not at but above waterline -entirely different. Such flimsy patching would not hold out in that sea. UnseamanlikeSpoiled for me a former yachtsman) by lack of authenticity. Use of sextant impossible to find position that way. Hole not at but above waterline -entirely different. Such flimsy patching would not hold out in that sea. Unseamanlike behaviour not securing hatch properly not zipping up all panels properly not sailing to favour unholed side etc. This is not pedantic. Tone of film demands total authenticity and belief in he sailor's measures. Suspect all makers in awe of Robert Redford recreating Old Man and The Sea.. Thus sloppy… Expand

8 of 10 users found this helpful82

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0

edwkeeOct 29, 2013

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. As a sailor and boat owner, I thought this was a horrible movie. Lazy director and poor script. The boat was poorly maintained, the skipper (Redford) seemed incompetent or even suicidal.

If the movie had retained anyone with some real offshore sailing experience, a large number of gaffes and mistakes could have been avoided.

Some examples: Redford never puts on a life jacket even in a storm; he has NO portable waterproof electronics (everyone going offshore has GPS, VHF radio and satellite phones); we never see the boat actually being sailed, just some shots of a luffing jib and reefed main; the boat seems to have no engine and no automatic bilge pump; Redford is seen whittling a handle for a really old manual bilge pump (a handle is tied to the pump in any boat I have seen); a broken mast is released by one quick cut of a rope, while in a real broken mast situation, the steel rod/cable shrouds are really hard to cut and most boats carry bolt cutters, hacksaws or more extreme shroud cutters devices to cut away a broken mast; and there was no "ditch bag" a bag that is prepared to throw into the life raft to help with survival.

The only way this movie could have worked for me was if the entire thing was a dream, and the last scene was of Redford in a hospital as the heart monitor goes flat (i.e., this was a real sailors horrible nightmare as he died).… Expand

9 of 12 users found this helpful93

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1

stusmalleyJan 22, 2014

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I hate to be a spoilsport, but as a sailor I recognize how ridiculous this film is to watch. It's an excellent film to showcase how not to sail, how not to prepare and how not to even bother donning a life jacket one time in the film. I can begin with how inaccurate all of the scenes are.

He patches a hole in the hull then tacks over and puts high water right on his repair job. Come on really?Why are his clothes constantly dry? Why does the boat have a roller fuller in the beginning then he's hanking on a jib half way through? He's shaving in the middle of a storm on a sinking boat ...really? He's pouring water on a cell phone to get it to work after drying it out? Again...no life jacket after constantly being thrown overboard and miraculously making it back onboard? What? Watches the boat sink and not bothering to grab the Lifesling or a life jacket. No handheld water proof radio, no GPS. The boat rolling over in a storm (unrealistic) several time with the companionway open yet cardboard boxes in one scene are underwater then dry in the next scene. Learning celestial navigation from a book in a life raft that cannot be maneuvered. He doesn't cap his water jug then wonders why there is salt water in it? How did it hold water in the first place with the cap open? I can't begin to tell you how asinine this film is. For any blue water sailor this film depicts a person that has no business being on the sea and nobody, I mean nobody would be this goofy and unprepared. Because this film is so silly and unrealistic I have to give it a score of only 1. Oh, and at the end...after seeing a boat only a few hundred yards away, he lights his life raft on fire, then decides to kill himself after struggling the entire film to be saved. I give up.… Expand

3 of 5 users found this helpful32

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2

foxgroveOct 18, 2013

All is most certainly lost including 106 minutes of my life watching this turgid drama in which the waves are as crashing as the boredom. Robert Redford's one man show is unsurprisingly disappointing. For one character to hold centre stageAll is most certainly lost including 106 minutes of my life watching this turgid drama in which the waves are as crashing as the boredom. Robert Redford's one man show is unsurprisingly disappointing. For one character to hold centre stage for an entire movie is a tall order that rarely succeeds and that is definitely the case here.Set the scenario on a boat and you have double trouble. What we actually have here is one man pitting his wits against nature, in this case a succession of storms. We never really know what the Redford character is doing out there and the time frame presented as 8 days doesn't actually seem credible in what happens on screen. Critics will reach for there list of superlatives (and they have yawn yawn) and praise Redford to the skies to be sure, but I find it hard to believe that the general audience member will warm to this monotonous indulgence.

On the plus side there is some very accomplished cinematography and I must admit that the later scenes in the dinghy are better than what has gone before. The last scene is actually the best in the film. However, it is certainly not enough and when all is said and done this is a boat trip definitely not worth taking.… Expand

13 of 22 users found this helpful139

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0

Bruce1000Feb 7, 2014

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. All is Lost is in an interestin enough film. Almost no dialogue makes it very unique, and the premice of a lone sailor battling for his life agains the elements promises a bit of a thrill. Unfortuanltely, however, Robert Redford doesn't really seem to be acting at all, and the character he plays appears to be trying to kill himself. He certainly managed to kill the film for me, as he sat in a overturned life raft, his face sunburnt and cracked, with a hat sitting three feet away from him. Anyone who has any knowledge of sailing, the ocean or the world in general will find this a tragic comedy of error after error, with an unresolved ending.… Expand

5 of 9 users found this helpful54

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0

asdasd33aJan 1, 2014

I havent sailed much but even to me this movie which solely portrays sailing emergency situation at sea seems as a string of completely mind boggling unbelievable events as if sailor is trying to kill himself instead of fighting for his life.I havent sailed much but even to me this movie which solely portrays sailing emergency situation at sea seems as a string of completely mind boggling unbelievable events as if sailor is trying to kill himself instead of fighting for his life. Thus ruining this movie for me. The fact that there is no dialogue and there is just a single character on screen makes sure of that.… Expand

6 of 11 users found this helpful65

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3

Trev29Jan 5, 2014

They could have put the camera on some random person's face and get the same "performance" Robert Redford gave. There was no acting involved. The movie is boring garbage. Nothing redeeming about it.

4 of 8 users found this helpful44

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3

jlplattenFeb 13, 2014

Watching a mute sailor roam around his sail boat for one half and then chill in his life boat for the second half... all the while speaking a grand total of 10 words (I didn't count, might be less)... was a complete bore. I found myselfWatching a mute sailor roam around his sail boat for one half and then chill in his life boat for the second half... all the while speaking a grand total of 10 words (I didn't count, might be less)... was a complete bore. I found myself reaching for my tablet continuously to browse the internet while this epically slow film dragged on. If you need a good movie to sleep to, this is the perfect movie with endless sounds of the ocean.… Expand

3 of 6 users found this helpful33

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3

sandywenkoNov 7, 2013

I could not get into this movie as much as I wanted to. The only good thing was that the music score was appropriate for this movie. It helped me sleep. The music was just as slow as the movie. The acting by Redford was non existent. NoI could not get into this movie as much as I wanted to. The only good thing was that the music score was appropriate for this movie. It helped me sleep. The music was just as slow as the movie. The acting by Redford was non existent. No acting what so ever. He just went thru the motions. Too bad.… Expand

3 of 6 users found this helpful33

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2

GreatMartinNov 12, 2013

When reviewing a movie, play, musical, cabaret act or anything that comes under the guise of 'art' I do my best to be kind but I am at a loss regarding the new Robert Redford film "All Is Lost". I have walked out on only one movie in the 70+When reviewing a movie, play, musical, cabaret act or anything that comes under the guise of 'art' I do my best to be kind but I am at a loss regarding the new Robert Redford film "All Is Lost". I have walked out on only one movie in the 70+ years I have been movie going and it took all I had not to walk out on this one.

To be positive Redford does a good job with what he is given to work with but he is the only one on the screen for the hour and forty minutes of the film and if the audience applauds when a school of fish appear you know something isn't working. My feeling is nothing in the movie works with the director J.C. Chandor, also the writer, along with the directors of photography Frank G. DeMarco and Peter Zuccarini, doing some shots that are incomprehensible. I am not a 'sailor' but even I know some things in the screenplay, on the screen, are not believable.

When Robert Redford costars with strong actors like Paul Newman, Barbra Streisand or Dustin Hoffman he shines and he shines here but the ocean wins out. And don't hate me Redford fans but he hasn't aged as well as Newman did. He gives his all and is getting a lot of the spotlight for it but as honest an acting job he does it is not enough to 'sell' the film… Expand

2 of 4 users found this helpful22

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1

ariel84Feb 1, 2014

i'll give this film a 1 only because i liked the score. the movie itself was a crashing bore. except for the opening scene. give me tom hanks and wilson anyday over redford's craggy face as a stand-in for actual acting.

1 of 2 users found this helpful11

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3

LynFeb 15, 2014

It's interesting to see Robert Redford's workmanlike performance here -- with little action, no dialogue, zero glamour. But his misadventures at sea would have benefited greatly from the presence of a big tiger or Louie Zamperini. OK, notIt's interesting to see Robert Redford's workmanlike performance here -- with little action, no dialogue, zero glamour. But his misadventures at sea would have benefited greatly from the presence of a big tiger or Louie Zamperini. OK, not fair to compare this to fiction ("Life of Pi"), but having read Louie's true story in "Unbroken," I felt frustrated that Redford's character was not more resourceful as the mishaps unfolded. At the very beginning, we hear his "message in a bottle" soliloquy that provides little in the way of backstory. What's he "sorry" for? Defying family wishes by taking this trip? Something to do with his kids' mother? Letting someone dye his hair and leave the telltale white sideburns? Not a satisfying film.… Expand

1 of 3 users found this helpful12

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1

sailorBobJan 28, 2014

ugh.
- gave up his boat
- strove for self destruction
- this is why idiots shouldn't sail
- instruction manual for certain death
- shame

- i liked the bit when he jumped into his life raft
- i saw this cause it was in macclean's.

1 of 3 users found this helpful12

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3

oblique15Jun 7, 2014

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Wow, what a waste of time.I have watched movies with similar circumstances, but they were much more original.The only things original about All Is Lost are the things that lead to frustration.Are you kidding me two ships pass by him, and don`t see him? Are you kidding me he set the life boat on fire? lol Are you kidding me he just gave up, and let him self go into the Ocean? lol That was pretty dumb of him to put fire on the life boat, and then just quit. The main character is a man of few words, and when he finally says his first word half way through the movie you find out his mouth needs to be washed with soap.I hated how the movie ended. You don`t even see the guy/people who rescued him, just a hand.… Expand

0 of 4 users found this helpful04

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2

chrisjones914Mar 25, 2014

Truly one of the worst movies I have ever seen! So so boring! Which is a complete shame because this movie had so much going for it! In the end, the only thing that was lost is what could have been a great film!

0 of 2 users found this helpful02

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2

seadaawgFeb 13, 2014

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. There were a number of problems for me in this movie. First, although Our Man seems to be a fairly seasoned sailor, and has most of the right equipment on the boat, he failed to immediately turn on the bilge pump when he first saw water pouring in through the damaged hull. That would be one of the first things an experienced sailor would think of in that situation. If he had started to pump immediately, he might have saved his electrical system, including the batteries, depending of course on how good or large-capacity the electric bilge pump was. Second, an immediate emergency repair of the hull would have been in order. There is a technique of wrapping a sail around the hull as a temporary measure to keep the water from pouring in, and many cruising sailboats carry pieces of waterproof fabric (such as sailcloth), and ways to attach them to the hull, to make immediate emergency repairs.

It drove me crazy that he left the foresail, a sort of small genoa, flapping around. Why didn't he drop it, as it served no purpose whatsoever just flopping around? Alternately, if he had put the boat on a point of sail that would have heeled (leaned) the boat so that the damaged side were up, it would have been much less likely that water would continue to pour in, at least in calm seas, which he had initially.

The "storm jib": an experienced sailor would have put the storm jib up when it first looked like he was in for a storm, not waited until it was almost impossible to do so, especially for a single-handed sailor.

The sextant: First, it is not at all surprising that in this age of inexpensive electronic navigation devices (GPS's), even a relatively good sailor would not know how to use a sextant. That said, a small battery-powered inexpensive GPS could be kept in a completely waterproof container of some sort for just this sort of emergency, or even two of them in separate containers, with spare batteries. They are so cheap now that it is absurd to not carry at least one of them as a spare navigation device. Second, a sextant without a nautical almanac, sight reduction tables, and an accurate timepiece, can only give you latitude, (by "shooting" the sun at true local noon), so it was unrealistic that he was plotting his course in that way on his chart. The most he could have done was plot lines of latitude on the chart. Also, only taking a shot or two around noon as he was apparently doing only gives you lines of position, not exact points, such as the ones he was marking on the chart. Also as an emergency and alternate piece of equipment, the sextant could have been a $70 plastic sextant, not an expensive metal one such as the one seen in the movie (which apparently was a gift, so I suppose he had no choice in the matter), in fact plastic sextants are much easier to use than the type he had. If sailing and navigation experts were consulted for this movie, they must have been ignored.
Water would have poured into the boat through the open companionway hatch when the boat rolled. I think someone said there was also a port open, so the same applies. I also think the boat would have sunk much faster than it did in the movie. Monohull boats have heavy keels that help sink them relatively fast, unless the boat were upside down with a large bubble of air trapped in it. Multihull boats (catamarans and trimarans) do not have heavy keels, and will not sink, although they would ride very low in the sea if full of water, again, unless they are upside down, in which case they might remain fairly high on the water, as long as a bubble of air is maintained inside the hull or hulls.
Same story for radios: a well-prepared sailor could have a small handheld radio with spare batteries kept in a waterproof container. Had he had one of those, he could have raised one of those ships on the emergency frequency (instead of trying to get their attention by yelling at them)

The life-raft: Any halfway good life-raft (which this one obviously purported to be) would definitely include at least a simple solar still, a very basic and completely necessary piece of lifeboat equipment. It was absurd that he had to figure out how to make one. Also, was there not a mirror in the emergency pack to try to signal other boats, or ships? Nearly all lifeboats include one. Also a loud whistle would have been part of the kit.
Bottom line: it was a little difficult for me to take this movie very seriously.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

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1

minaflewisFeb 14, 2014

A One was probably too generous. I can't believe anyone liked it. There are perhaps 20 seconds of dialogue in the entire movie. You just watch Redford stumble around making mistake after mistake on his boat. It is boring. It is aA One was probably too generous. I can't believe anyone liked it. There are perhaps 20 seconds of dialogue in the entire movie. You just watch Redford stumble around making mistake after mistake on his boat. It is boring. It is a complete yawner and you really don't care in the end if he lives or dies.… Expand

0 of 2 users found this helpful02

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1

dosboatMar 1, 2014

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. It is obvious Redford has never been on a boat or he would never allowed himself to be shown as an idiot. Love to know if there were any technical advisors, probably from NASCAR. Thinking of allowing water in thru a hole or open hatch is OK? Love the part of shaving as a storm is approaching rather than putting up a storm jib. Never trimmed his sails at all, always luffing. There was so many stupid acts, the whole movie was aggravating. BTW I'm a sailor… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

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1

jmshaverMar 8, 2014

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. If you are a sailor, you will likely spend the majority of your time watching this movie scratching your head, as Redford's character makes some truly mind boggling decisions, like stopping to shave while being faced with an oncoming storm instead of putting up his storm jib BEFORE the storm arrives.

I really don't understand how a movie like this can be made with such little attention to detail.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

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1

gregwattsMay 5, 2014

although i regard robert redford as a great actor this was a surprisingly poor performance. predictable and formulaic it was obviously shot mostly in the studio. i couldn't engage with the sailor at all . he was so stupid in everything healthough i regard robert redford as a great actor this was a surprisingly poor performance. predictable and formulaic it was obviously shot mostly in the studio. i couldn't engage with the sailor at all . he was so stupid in everything he did that i wanted him to die out of pure frustration and boredom. not his ,mine.… Expand

0 of 3 users found this helpful03

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1

RichardGonciJan 2, 2015

This movie is a case wherein "user reviews" are more valuable than critic reviews, insofar as at least some users are actually sailors. Obviously neither the director the the star have ever done any serious blue-water sailing, or they wouldThis movie is a case wherein "user reviews" are more valuable than critic reviews, insofar as at least some users are actually sailors. Obviously neither the director the the star have ever done any serious blue-water sailing, or they would not have made such an idiotic movie arguably about sailing. The "mistakes" are not trivial. They are stupendous. Akin to driving a car across America on the wrong side of the road and hoping no one hits you. This is not a spoiler alert, except to say that it boggles the mind that no one involved in a movie about sailing that sacrifices three sailboats knew anything about sailing in blue water. There are actually sailing chat groups devoted to enumerating just the most egregious mistakes this feckless idiot makes in the process of his "sojourn." 81 at last count. Actual sailors promised not to go to a theatre and ruin the movie for others by falling on the floor laughing.… Expand

0 of 2 users found this helpful02

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1

ilmdcasNov 26, 2014

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This terribly inaccurate film showed a complete lack of any knowledge of seamanship by all those who contributed to its making. I would only recommend it to any sailors who want to get a good laugh out of the terribly implausible mistakes of a lone sailor (Robert Redford) who appears to have spent his first time on a boat out on the Indian Ocean. From flimsily repairing a gaping hole in his hull to sending his life raft up in flames by attempting to start a signal fire in his plastic container, the movie was chalk full of ridiculous decisions. Redford seemed to stare at every difficulty for a good 5 minutes just to make yet another poor decision. Was he trying to kill himself? If I ever teach a sailing school class this would be a wonderful example of everything not to do at see. Hope this was helpful.… Expand

0 of 2 users found this helpful02

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3

LeoKearseApr 17, 2016

I'm surprised at the number of positive reviews that this film received. It has a weird un-cinematic atmosphere; like someone filming your uncle on a good digital camcorder pootling around on his yacht. There's a lack of tension, despite lotsI'm surprised at the number of positive reviews that this film received. It has a weird un-cinematic atmosphere; like someone filming your uncle on a good digital camcorder pootling around on his yacht. There's a lack of tension, despite lots of bad things happening to the protagonist. And the ending is utterly risible. I mean, I was disgusted at the lack of realism and the blatant fudging to get a saccharine happy ending.… Expand

0 of 2 users found this helpful02

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1

TripleZeroFeb 9, 2014

After watching i have trouble to describe my feelings. Mostly it is annoyance.

I am annoyed by the fact that the director has absolutely no clue about sailing. Neither does Redford apparently otherwise he would never have agreed to thisAfter watching i have trouble to describe my feelings. Mostly it is annoyance.

I am annoyed by the fact that the director has absolutely no clue about sailing. Neither does Redford apparently otherwise he would never have agreed to this script. (maybe he really needed the money?)

I am not a sailor, i have never learned sailing in any way yet i recognize so many errors and mistakes in this movie it is truly saddening.

It couldve been a really nice movie if it wasnt so damn stupid.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

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