The Cave

I give it an average "5" because it's an average movie. Not really bad, not really good. Just not really ANYTHING. It just sat there and didn't really do anything. As a "man against the elements" movie, it was at least interesting. As a "creature feature," it was completely dull and unoriginal. The characters were one-dimensional - you wouldn't care about any of them.

Rather than letting us spend the time with these characters to learn how and why they are so close-knit, the script writer simply had one of the characters say, "We're like a family." - OK, if you say so . . . then why does no one in the group shed a single tear when people start dying? Characters move from death scene to death scene as if they are just losing casual acquaintances - but wait, she said "they are like a family." OH, I get it - because most family members can't stand each other - OK, now it makes sense! Anyway - if they had lost the monsters, gotten some better actors and a better script, and simply made a movie about cave divers lost underground having to band together to get out, this might have been a decent movie. As it is, the "escape the cave" element is never really richly developed, and instead the focus seems to be on "scaring" you, which it never does, or "wowing" you with action and effects, which it CERTAINLY never does.

In the end, a wasted opportunity, with the only redeeming feature being the nice sets and photography. Wait till it comes to cable, dudes!

Truth is, that's all one needs to say about this low-budget suspenser about a group of spelunkers and scientists following a mysterious passage deep into the earth, long hidden beneath an ancient church in Romania. They quickly run into malformed creatures that exist only in the darkness, and get picked off one by one as they race to find a way out. The creatures are not as scary as the ones in "Pitch Black" or even "The Relic." There is a much better movie buried here (pun intended) involving some very tense and exciting sequences as the spelunkers work their way through various caves and passageways and waterways, and climb up and down steep rock walls. But the clichéd monster movie keeps getting in the way. And in the end, it doesn't help that each character is a walking cliché seemingly right out of "The Core." I would gladly watch "The Cave" a second time, but only for the cave exploration scenes. The ending has a nice, slightly twisty touch.

Thirty years ago, in the Carpathians Mountains of Romania, a group of explorers blows an entrance to a cave hidden under a church, but the explosion causes a landslide and they become trapped inside. In the present days, the expedition leaded by Dr. Nicolai (Marcel Iures) and his assistant, Dr. Kathryn (Lena Headey) are exploring the place and they find the access through an underwater river, requesting the experienced cave divers team leaded by Jack (Cole Hauser). Dr. Nicolai discovers that, in accordance with the local legend, the church was built to seal the cave as a display of God's protective power, and that Templar Knights entered the cave to fight winged demons. When the group reaches a cave though a tunnel one mile below and three miles in, a creature attacks one of the members and his breathing apparatus explodes, collapsing the tunnel and trapping the group in the cave. Sooner they realize that they are the rescue team and they have to find an exit to survive from the attack of the monsters.

"The Cave" is a predictable rip-off of Alien. If the viewer sees the trailer, as I did, he knows the whole story, and will only bet how many, if any, of the characters will survive in the end. This movie entertains because of the locations and the good cast. I am a fan of Lena Headey and her beauty is a good reason to see this film. The conclusion is a hook for a sequel, as usual. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "A Caverna" ("The Cave")

I saw this movie yesterday night, after going through my other collections and its usually IMDb that provides me motivation of either to watch something or chuck it. So i went through the reviews at IMDb and found that it wasn't highly rated. Still i decided to give it a try as i did not have anything else to watch......and i must say this movie is well made right from the start be it the acting,the choreography,the locations....everything was perfect. The only thing i found wrong was that the characters details were shallow but even then i found this movie amazing.

All i want to say is that reviewers must not go along with the herd if some people criticize then they should as well. This movie deserves the recognition and the people who made it possible as well. Hence i would recommend people to watch this and not go according to the rating earlier shown.

This wasn't a bad movie if you like creature flicks. It isn't original, but it does nothing badly and is interesting enough to spend 1.5 hours with.

Firstly: why is it that the entire team consists of hunks and babes? Even the scientists are good looking chicks. Oh well, we'll just have to suspend our thinking and just accept that actors have to be good looking these days, even if their roles completely rule out looking like a supermodel.

As for the movie itself: the action, plot (if there is any to speak of), effects and direction are OK, as is the acting.. Once again, nothing special, novel or interesting but not bad either. The editing was decent except for the action shots. Why does every editor and/or director think that they are doing an MTV clip these days? Keep the camera still! If you think I can see what's going on in random .3 second bursts of film, you're wrong. So irritating.

The effects are OK. Although at times the caves are lit in ways that are impossible for the little flashlights to accomplish, the set is generally dark enough to be realistic. The caves look real. The monsters are not that good but they are almost never shown completely, and in doing so they are acceptable. I do wish the movie had more gore though. Being, as almost all horror movies these days, PG-13 to cash in on teenage kids' money, it does not show any gore besides some scratches and some ugly but very brief ceature shots.

Final comment: I wish the movie had revolved around the first cave expedition that is shown during the introduction titles. They seemed a hell of a lot more interesting than that group of supermodels who came in later. Real men, real people, driven by greed. Oh well.

Decent action, decent thrills. Not bad to kill some time with.