Open Water 3: Cage Dive

This movie was not horrible, but could not hold a candle to the previous two. I must say,the actors were quite good. I really enjoyed the first to Open Water movies, so I figured this one would be good, too. First, it is done in documentary format (unlike the previous ones). This makes it choppy and adds some dull scenes that seem like filler. Secondly, the cinematography was so bad, it made me seasick. Third, they should have built up the capsize scene of the boat and the monstrous wave - it lasted about 2 seconds, and we never saw it coming. Last, and most importantly, it just lacked suspense. This could have been a good movie - the premise and the cast were good. Not the worst movie I have seen, but those who loved the first two will be disappointed in this. I do feel the kids had good chemistry and did a good acting job.

I've seen a fair share of shark movies(about a dozen), and decided to give this one a chance despite the low ratings. Making a good shark movie isn't easy, and the same goes for found footage films. So with this in mind I did not expect too much of it and just hoped for some good shark footage and maybe some nice shark attack aftermath images.

Without spoiling what happens, there will be sharks! Yes! And they look real and credible. Any use of cgi looks pretty good, no obvious rubber or pixelated sharks. This is the best part of the film.

Sadly the rest of the movie is filled with a really bad plot carried out by 3 unlikable selfish characters. The acting isn't awful, but the story and dialogue are. And it doesn't compliment their dull characters.

Maybe the director should make a "sharks only cut". Because that's all worth seeing.

Cage Dive is all the film was labelled as when I sat down to witness what I thought was going to be a blatant 47 Meters down ripoff, but as the movie progressed I could totally see the connection to the Open Water franchise.

For those unaware both of the previous Open Water films have involved people who find themselves out in the ocean, the boat gone, floating aimlessly in shark infested waters. Basically 90 minutes of them talking, panicking and waiting to be pulled under. Not exactly the most exciting movies, but certainly atmospheric.

Cage Dive is basically the same formula as we see 3 friends participate in a shark cage dive, but when a freak storm/wave hits the boat they find themselves lost out at sea. Throw in a dramatic soap opera like side story and you have all the makings of something really quite bad.

The thing which sets it apart however is that this addition is filmed in the found footage format which actually plays in its favor. To do essentially the same film again they needed to do something different and it works, the film is still not overly interesting but it has a degree of novelty value for this reason.

The lack of budget shows, though you'll see some great nature shots (Especially whales) don't expect the sharks to be quite as on point as the likes of other bigger budget shark films. To make matters worse their budget didn't buy them a good cast, they really only needed 3 people and honestly I don't think casting did a very good job with any of them.

The actual "Cage dive" gimmick is not played out at all so don't expect 47 Meters Down, expect Open Water 3 which is exactly what it is.

The Good:

Found footage format works for the movie

Has some passable ideas

The Bad:

Poor cast

Lack of budget shows

Ultimately it's a "Talkie" in water

Total snooze fest, predictable, and horrible acting. I really like the other two Open Water movies but this one disappointed. If you want to watch a good cage diving flick just get 47 Meters Down.

Open Water 3: Cage Dive (2017)

** (out of 4)

Jeff, Josh and Megan (Joel Hogan, Josh Potthoff, Megan Pelta Hill) are three friends from California who take a trip to Australia where they plan on trying out for a reality show. While there they decide to go cage diving with great white sharks but a freak wave tips over the boat and soon the three are stranded in the middle of the ocean.

This film was made as simply CAGE DIVE but I'm guessing when it was bought for its American release it had OPEN WATER 3 slapped to it. For the most part I enjoyed the first film in the series but the second one wasn't nearly as good, although it did remain slightly entertaining. Part three is when the magic runs out and there are a number of issues with the picture but what kept me turned off the most were the characters.

I will say that all three actors do a good job with their roles but that didn't make me like these people. I mean, they're basically very shallow and annoying people and when it comes to a "lost footage" movie you need to like the people you're spending the time with. Sadly I didn't enjoy their company and especially since a lot of the time they were doing extremely stupid things. I know, in order for a horror film to work you need dumb characters. I'm not going to spoil what exactly happens but I guarantee you will know the scene I'm talking about when it happens.

Another problem with the movie is the fact that it's really not that scary or intense. I'm sure some of this has to do with the fact that I didn't like the characters but the attack scenes aren't all that scary on their own and I'd argue that I never really felt as if they were under attack by these sharks. OPEN WATER 3 isn't an awful movie because it did keep me slightly into what was going on but once the movie was over and I started thinking back on it I ended up finding more and more issues with it.