The Woman in Cabin 10

If you're scrolling Netflix for a quick and easy Friday night watch, this may fit the bill.

Keira Knightly plays a journalist, and at the outset I thought this might play out as a political thriller. But it's more along the lines of an Agatha Christie mystery, or more precisely Flightplan (2005) but on a yacht. There is a twist I did not see coming, at least in part due to its implausibility.

There are some great actors in supporting roles, but sadly they are given little to do as mostly one-dimensional characters. Gugu Mbatha-Raw in particular is criminally underutilized.

Nonetheless, a bowl of popcorn, 90 minutes, easy-peasy. I give it an extra star just for Knightley.

I don't know why I still keep my subscription anymore. I haven't seen anything that deserved 5/10 for the last year. They made all the movies and series so miserable that I can't even watch them till the end.

This one is another example of terrible movie with everything is so easy to guess you can even tell what will happen based on clues they push on your face.

"The Woman in Cabin 10" sets itself up with all the right ingredients - big names splashed across the credits, a yacht so sleek it makes you wonder who you have to know just to step on deck, and the kind of British accents that dress up even the most ordinary line of dialogue. At the center, there's Keira Knightley, who has that rare thing you can't fake - she walks into a frame and you believe her, you root for her, even before she's said a word. Through her, we're pulled into this world of polished surfaces and bottomless champagne flutes, a fantasy of luxury until the whole thing tilts into something darker. A scream in the night. A shadow where it doesn't belong. Suddenly we're not watching a travelogue anymore; we're caught in a whodunnit, with everyone on board a suspect and nobody telling the truth. The trouble is, the story isn't as fresh as it thinks it is. You've seen this ride before - mystery built on familiar scaffolding, twists you can spot if you've been paying attention, and the occasional scene that exists only because the plot won't move without it. And yet - Knightley keeps you there. She carries the film on sheer presence, makes you forget the clichés long enough to see it through, and when the ending finally lands, it does just enough to leave you satisfied. Without her, this would've been another forgettable thriller lost at sea. With her, it earns its 7 out of 10, not great, not groundbreaking, but worth the watch.

Another example of how it takes a genius like Hitchcock to make such material a winner. "Comedy! Chills! Chuckles!" Hitchcock fulfilled these advertising promises in 1938. "The Lady Vanishes" is still a delight today. "The Woman in Cabin 10" has a first-class leading actress in Keira Knightley. That saves it from being a complete flop. Otherwise, there's zero comedy, just a few embarrassing attempts at chuckles and far too few chills. But ... Keira Knightley is in it.

"The Woman in Cabin 10" sails steadily through familiar thriller waters - neither sinking nor soaring. It's a film that sits comfortably in the middle: not particularly gripping, but not outright bad either. The performances are solid, with the cast doing a commendable job at keeping the tension alive, even when the story doesn't fully support them.

The main issue lies in the script, which feels a bit undercooked. The setup is promising, but the plot lacks the punch and complexity needed to elevate it beyond "just fine." The dialogue sometimes feels mechanical, and a few key moments that should hit hard simply drift by without much weight.

Still, "The Woman in Cabin 10" remains a passable watch - the kind of movie that's decent for a quiet evening but won't stick with you once the credits roll. Average through and through, with glimpses of what could have been a sharper, more memorable thriller.