Sanctum
Universal Pictures | Release Date: February 4, 2011
5.1
USER SCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 113 Ratings
USER RATING DISTRIBUTION
Positive:
35
Mixed:
46
Negative:
32
Watch Now
Buy on
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Expand
Review this movie
VOTE NOW
 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Check box if your review contains spoilers 0 characters (5000 max)

User Reviews

User scoreBy dateMost helpful
5
MrRiggsFeb 24, 2011
Well this is a hit or miss for most. Either it will grab you in or it will spit you out. The effects/scenery is pretty darn cool but thats really about it. The acting I found somewhat cheesy and overblown but for the most part it entertained.Well this is a hit or miss for most. Either it will grab you in or it will spit you out. The effects/scenery is pretty darn cool but thats really about it. The acting I found somewhat cheesy and overblown but for the most part it entertained. I cant say it was great nor terrible but its half and half for me.… Expand
1 of 1 users found this helpful10
All this user's reviews
6
tdkDallasFeb 6, 2011
I am not sure why most everyone is hating on this film so badly. It was just as cheesy as I was expecting from seeing the commercials. We both enjoyed it. The only thing missing was a cave-dwelling animal attack.
3 of 4 users found this helpful31
All this user's reviews
4
ZephFeb 6, 2011
This movie is nothing but visuals. We live in an age where visuals are simply supposed to look that good anyway, its like a standard. It was a real upset of a movie in comparison to what James Cameron has done in the past. (Whether you likedThis movie is nothing but visuals. We live in an age where visuals are simply supposed to look that good anyway, its like a standard. It was a real upset of a movie in comparison to what James Cameron has done in the past. (Whether you liked his movies or not, it makes no difference) Although I do say that lame stories are kind of a specialty of him, just like Sanctum was. 2/5… Expand
0 of 1 users found this helpful01
All this user's reviews
6
TheNewSpielbergApr 3, 2011
A group of people go on an exploration of the biggest cave system in the world and have two days to get out before the area floods. Many people die, leaving only four left. The film is cheesy and the as we go deeper into the cave, every areaA group of people go on an exploration of the biggest cave system in the world and have two days to get out before the area floods. Many people die, leaving only four left. The film is cheesy and the as we go deeper into the cave, every area is dull, looking exactly the same and lavished with unnecessary CGI, something I am not a fan of as a film buff. However, scenes that involve the spectacular 3-D effects make this one of the only reasons to see this movie. In sum, good 3d, mediocre film.… Expand
0 of 1 users found this helpful01
All this user's reviews
6
PanchogulJun 1, 2021
Buenos efectos 3D, buena fotografía y puesta en escena, historia floja y sosa, actuaciones y personajes sin pena ni gloria, medianamente entretenida. Vale la pena destacar lo bien que se ve considerando que es una en formato 3D que costóBuenos efectos 3D, buena fotografía y puesta en escena, historia floja y sosa, actuaciones y personajes sin pena ni gloria, medianamente entretenida. Vale la pena destacar lo bien que se ve considerando que es una en formato 3D que costó solamente 30 Millones de Dólares, presupuesto bajo para una película de este tipo.… Expand
0 of 1 users found this helpful01
All this user's reviews
4
MarcDoyleFeb 10, 2011
For what it's worth, I was on the edge of my seat for the entirety of the second half of this film. Nothing is cheap about it, but there's just not a ton of substance. It's like a bunch of other movies of this sort that I've seen, but it'sFor what it's worth, I was on the edge of my seat for the entirety of the second half of this film. Nothing is cheap about it, but there's just not a ton of substance. It's like a bunch of other movies of this sort that I've seen, but it's interesting. And looks terrific. I'd recommend it on a free popcorn night (like tonight was).… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
All this user's reviews
4
ShiiraFeb 13, 2011
This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Mother Nature is the monster. No aliens here, just a lot of rain, water made malicious by the forces of the cosmos, and then, gravity. Besides, what would aliens be doing in a cave system anyway? It's a question that Neal Marshall's "The Descent" never answers. Think about it. These extra-terrestrials travel all those miles, galaxies upon galaxies, to conquer...caves. Why caves? Now here comes "Sanctum". In the case of the diver team spelunking around the Papua New Guinea subterranean passageways of Esa Ala, a griping teenaged boy's cry of "Why caves?" to his explorer father gets a full explanation, but alas, Josh(Rhys Wakefield) must have a short memory, since he forgets the musings put forth by the expedition team's bank roller, prior to the hierarchical killings. (Naturally, the indigenous crew member dies first.) Carl(Ioan Grufudd) tries to justify his father's unconventional life, which took him away from home in long stretches. He says, "Your old man is like Christopher Columbus, or Neal Armstrong," later adding that "there's nowhere else on the planet left to explore." Apparently, these great men, these iconoclasts of history, make no impression on Josh. (Does he even know who these men are?") With their lives hanging in the balance, the historically-challenged boy unloads all of his daddy issues on Frank(Richard Roxburgh) at the most inopportune time, whining like an overgrown baby about his father's chronic absenteeism, when his main concern should involve staving off imminent death from the infiltrating water that threatens to turn the caverns into watery graves. Such is the fallacy of the filmic world, where time compression creates a juxtaposition encompassing personal matters with the visceral physicalities of the moment, the latter which should have everybody's full attention, but doesn't, in which the secondary goal of reconciliation is poised to overtake the primary goal of survival. Fighting off mental and physical exhaustion, Frank, in response to his son's bad parenting diatribe, gets his metaphors mixed up, by comparing the cave to a church, and the cave system to religion, when in fact, caverns such as the Esa Ala, and others of its ilk, which took the veteran explorer away from his wife and child over the years, seems more like a mistress, and his penetration of her stone walls, an affair. Frank's church is like something out of the Flannery O'Connor novel "Wise Blood", because it's a "Church Without Christ". "No god down here. We're just bits of dust passing through," says Frank(an Aussie Hazel Moates) to his only parishioner, "The Son Who Grew Up Without A Father", in between the deaths of their fellow divers, George(due to decompression sickness) and Victoria(on account of her stupidity), whom neither father nor son properly mourns like real people would. As a leader of men, Frank sucks. Despite his reputation of being a great man, Frank puts his whole crew in mortal danger right from the start, when he wrongly predicts that the machines will warn its monitoring subordinates of any oncoming flooding. The shouting obscures his incompetence. Frank's in charge, not his underlings, and yet he allows Judes(Allison Cratchley) to dive without a backup tank. It's Frank's job to neutralize her persistence with some persistence of his own. Following the drowning, Josh criticizes him, and instead of taking it like a man, he implicates his son in the accident, citing how the boy didn't procure those extra tanks like he asked. Even worse, he allows Victoria(Alice Parkinson) to swim without a wet suit. The novice diver(and Carl's girlfriend) insists that she'd rather be "cold and alive than warm and dead," when she refuses to wear Judes' gear. During their post-mortem(following Victoria's where she sacrifices herself for the greater good), Josh call his father a "heartless bastard", but after a couple of minutes, they're hugging; they patch things up, right after Frank earnestly compares his passion to a religion, and for some asinine reason, this seems to satisfy Josh. Forgiveness should be doled out incrementally, but "Sanctum" treats their reconciliation, as it does everything else, like a plot point, as it marches forward into the abyss of formulaic filmmaking.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
All this user's reviews
6
BathmatMar 21, 2011
A visual treat this one, especially in 3-D. Sanctum is a brilliant looker. The movie wants you to be in the cave with them. It works. It makes you feel like you're one of the divers on this expedition. It tries to show you the unpleasant andA visual treat this one, especially in 3-D. Sanctum is a brilliant looker. The movie wants you to be in the cave with them. It works. It makes you feel like you're one of the divers on this expedition. It tries to show you the unpleasant and the pleasantness of underwater cave diving. It works. The script was written by the leader of a cave diving expedition which was the inspiration of Sanctum. James Cameron didn't want a script writer without experience of the subject, neither did Alister Grierson. But the script... Oh dear god! That was terrible. Cliched and rubbish are two words to describe it. The acting worked some of the time, but it just mainly fails. The characters are boring but Ioan Gruffurd's character is the worst. His character, Carl Hurley is just badly sketched. The pacing was too slow. It's only about half the length of Avatar, but it felt much longer than it. When Frank was dying, I had to go to the toilet. I was there for about 2 minutes. When I came back, he was still dying and one minute later he died. If you want to watch the movie, remember to look, not to listen.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
All this user's reviews
6
perfecthexFeb 4, 2011
This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. To wit, stick that camera down an aquatic cave, wrap a paper-thin plot around it, slap the whole thing up on an IMAX screen and call it a movie. More truth in advertising: Call it a lame movie.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
All this user's reviews
4
asthobaskoroMay 7, 2011
Such a shame Indonesia didn't get chance to watch in 3D, remember James Cameron is the magnet **** yeah Jive!). Surprisingly touching on fatherhood drama and satisfying on visual thrills, but did I mention about ****ed-up script and acting?
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
All this user's reviews
4
Bu99Mar 1, 2011
What can I say about this movie... It is Intersting, but let's face it we were all expecting much better from James Cameron. It has some scary parts and some good ones but I really didn't liked it. It was't a movie that will stay forever inWhat can I say about this movie... It is Intersting, but let's face it we were all expecting much better from James Cameron. It has some scary parts and some good ones but I really didn't liked it. It was't a movie that will stay forever in my mind. (Except for the main actor wow good abs).… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
All this user's reviews
5
Breezy1212Jul 31, 2011
This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. this is the most horrific, intense, and totally disturbing movie i have ever seen, not one for the faint of heart, or stomach. Frank's spine was slicing through his back when he asked his son to kill him! and Victoria's skin was ripped from her skull when it got caught in the clip. Plus there were at least 6 dead bodies shown, and probably more people died in other parts of the cave. Not something for the faint of heart, the ending is really sad.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
All this user's reviews
4
SoulshockFeb 6, 2012
What a painful movie. Just finished watching it and wish I hadn't. Whatchamacallit green screen is noticeable in some parts, which adds to unrealistic atmosphere. But that's not worst of course, while the main older guy is a great actor, theWhat a painful movie. Just finished watching it and wish I hadn't. Whatchamacallit green screen is noticeable in some parts, which adds to unrealistic atmosphere. But that's not worst of course, while the main older guy is a great actor, the rest is just forgettable. Some gory/bloody scenes make you flinch and look away instead of bite your nails. Full of painful scenes you just want to skip, and I did.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
All this user's reviews
4
MegWhiteleyMay 16, 2012
A big deception. When I watch the poster of Sanctum I think in a big movie, with an amazing story and a great development, but when I watch Sanctum I found other things, the story is really boring, have a simple and boring development. TheA big deception. When I watch the poster of Sanctum I think in a big movie, with an amazing story and a great development, but when I watch Sanctum I found other things, the story is really boring, have a simple and boring development. The performances are good, but any new or biggest. The best of Sanctum are the places that appear in the movie, really beautiful, but no more. Sanctum is a big deception for me, I believe that the movie have other things, other great things, but the final product is terrible.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
All this user's reviews
4
iCronicJul 12, 2014
This **** boring as **** Didnt watch it in 3D, where i think it would've been better, with the potential of the underwater visuals. The actors were bad
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
All this user's reviews
4
CineAutoctonoAug 1, 2015
Sanctum had a good argument but I had little flaw is that they have not set the visual effects, brightness not to look so good , however the suspense and drama remained there .
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
All this user's reviews
4
MaislingJun 26, 2020
For me this this like a film of two aspects. One good, the other(very)bad. The camerawork and visuals are obviously impressive, but it's let down by the badly written goofy dialogue. to be fair the actors seem to be doing their best, but IFor me this this like a film of two aspects. One good, the other(very)bad. The camerawork and visuals are obviously impressive, but it's let down by the badly written goofy dialogue. to be fair the actors seem to be doing their best, but I the script seemed to have been written by some nerdy goofball who thinks they're funnier than they are. Literally every time somebody told a joke I cringed so hard it almost hurt. Frankly the criminally cringe banter between the characters ruined what could have been a very good movie. I'm constantly amazed how these big Hollywood studios and Execs keep signing of on such clearly dodgy dialogue. The script is the heart of a movie and the dialogue is the heart of a script. To ignore that is like polishing a turd. This movie is a nicely polished turd: But a turd is always a turd, even when you wrap pretty ribbons round it.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
All this user's reviews
More From This Movie

42 Critic Reviews

5.1 User Reviews

Details & Credits|Trailers

Current Movie Releases
By MetascoreBy User Score
1 81 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
2 77 Project Hail Mary
3 75 Send Help
4 73 Hoppers
5 71 The Sheep Detectives
SEE ALL
Essential Links
New on Amazon Prime Video
New on Netflix
Coming Soon to DVD/Blu-ray
SEE ALL