Product: The Descent (Original Unrated Cut) [Blu-ray] (2006)
Rating: 2.0
Entertaining but Forgettable. 52 out of 100.
My wife and I had a rare opportunity to find a babysitter and head out to a Sunday movie. Not knowing what was out, we began exploring ratings and reviews on Amazon and Google. While not in the mood for a horror movie, we decided to see The Descent anyway, simply because it was rated extremely high compared to everything else.So, with popcorn in hand, we rolled past previews and into The Descent.The Descent is a story of a British woman and her group of friends who enjoy extreme adventures such as rafting on rapids, rock climbing, and even base jumping. After a tragedy, the reunite in the Appalachian mountains to explore a cave. It is here that the frights begin.Without giving away spoilers, I will mention some aspects of The Descent that my wife and I discussed in the car after the movie.First and foremost, we were surprised at how much blood and gore was in the film. It wasn't needed, and many times felt out of place. The blood and gore became very distracting. We both feltit was over the edge and took away from the story. Blood isn't scary in and of itself, and after a while it loses its shock value.Secondly, there were too many cheap frights in the movie. By this I mean unexpected scenes meant to stop your heart that come out of the blue and really have nothing to do with the plot. The beginning and ending of The Descent feature scenes like this. (and no, they were black cats jumping out of shadows)Third, while the acting was good, the characters were forgettable. One month from now I won't remember either the actors or their characters.That brings me to the fourth point: while entertaining, The Descent was forgettable. My wife and I agreed strongly on this point. In a year from now we most likely will be browsing the video stores and come across The Descent. I can hear the words now, "Did we see that? I can't remember? Was that the movie..."Spoiler alert....Lastly, the ending was out of place. The main character does something to another character that wrecked the film for us. Earlier in the film, Juno is under attack and swings arounf wildly, only the land a climbing pick that goes all the way through another characters throat. That character can't speak, and drops to the group. While on the group, blood pours from this character's would at a fast and furious pace. There is a scene where you can literally see the blood pouring to the ground at a shocking rate. The stream from the wound is about an half inch thick. In any case, Juno leaves her for dead. My wife and I didn't blame her. This woman was toast with that kind of blood loss.But, alas, the woman didn't die and is still doing OK twenty minutes later in the film. Can you say hokey? I knew you could. Juno is then left for dead by the main character. The main character comes off as a bigger fool that Juno. At least Juno didn't kill on purpose.And then the main character fleas, only to give us another part deux of the cheesy ending: a heart stopper in the getaway vehicle. The end of the Descent contained two scenes that were out of place and ruined the movie for us. Nuff said.The movie was scary, the acting good, the story was pretty good, but the directing and the fleshing out of the characters in the script left us happy to ascend from The Descent.It is worth seeing, but my wife and I both agreed:1) We would not see it again2) We would not buy it on DVD3) We would be hesitant to recommend it to many of our friendsTotal Score (out of 100) = 4820 (out of 50). Enjoyment. A rating based on my overall enjoyment of the film.7 (out of 10). Acting. How good was the acting?8 (out of 10). Immersion. Did the movie suck me into the story?8 (out of 10). Intangibles. Special effects. Movie pace. Is the movie forgettable, or something you will talk about and remember for weeks? Years?4 (out of 10). Must see. Is this movie worth seeing/renting?1 (out of 10). Must buy. Is this movie a must buy/purchase?