Open Water 3: Cage Dive

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

I don't leave a lot of reviews but I felt compelled to help others to not waste their time on this stinker. Found footage movies have been worn out over the years and this is no different than any of the other terrible films to come out in this genre. Do yourself a favour and move along as watching this car crash of a movie will probably make you dumber.

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 enjoyed this movie more than I thought I would. After reading some of the reviews I nearly gave it a miss, but being a big fan of shark movies I decided to give it a chance. Despite the cover leading you to think the sharks are a fanciful size, the actual shark footage was believable and thankfully not overdone.

This is a standalone movie but I would put it on a par with the first Open Water movie and I liked it much more than the ridiculous Open Water 2. The acting was good and while some parts dragged on there was enough (including a few jump scares) to keep you invested in the story.

Some reviews have compared this with "The Shallows" and while this movie is different in many ways it was refreshing that the sharks weren't single-minded in their efforts to get their prey. This movie doesn't pretend to be a masterpiece but certainly has some good moments and is worth a viewing.

The very low and very high reviews are hard to take seriously and despite some of the more annoying moments I reckon it's a solid 6 out of 10.

So many bad judgment calls. Just cheered on the sharks!