 | ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. |
 | OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
Sanctum
- Review Date: February 1, 2011
- R
- Genre: Action/Adventure
- 2011
Common Sense Media says
Shallow adventure movie about deep caves.
Parents say
QUALITY
Kids say
QUALITY
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that this intense 3-D adventure movie set in the world of cave diving was produced (though not written or directed) by James Cameron and feels very much like a smaller-scale version of one of his epics -- like Titanic and Avatar -- and is just as focused on spectacle. There's plenty of heavy language (including many uses of "f--k" and "s--t"), and the violence includes fighting and blood, plus gruesome drownings and dead bodies -- all of which is amplified by the 3-D. You can also expect some drinking and smoking and a little innuendo.
What's the story?
A group of cave divers prepares to explore one of the world's biggest caves, perhaps becoming the first humans to discover a new underwater passage to the sea. Among them are expert caver Frank (Richard Roxburgh); his estranged son, Josh (Rhys Wakefield); and Carl (Ioan Gruffudd), the weekend-adventurer/millionaire paying for the whole expedition. Unfortunately, a typhoon hits harder and faster than expected, stranding the five explorers inside and slowly filling the caves with water. Now they have no choice but to find their secret passage or die trying.
Is it any good?
Produced by James Cameron, SANCTUM feels very much like it was entirely sculpted, shaped, and finalized by the self-proclaimed "King of the World." It includes his style of storytelling -- for example, a 3-D computer demonstration of the entire cave system -- and his brand of pretty shallow characters, as well as an obsession with spectacle. And, indeed, the cave photography here is impressive -- but that's not enough to make the movie work.
Most of the film's suspense depends on a real, natural human fear of drowning; but Buried and 127 Hours play on similar fears to much better effect, with stronger characters and performances to boot. Sometimes it's possible, as with Cameron's own Avatar, to overlook a movie's lack of human elements and enjoy the hugeness of the event as a pure cinematic rollercoaster ride, but Sanctum feels like too little, too late.
What families can talk about
Families can talk about the movie's violence. Is it thrilling or disturbing? How does the movie achieve that reaction?
Is this movie more or less scary than similar films that have clear "bad guys" -- or even monsters -- to confront? Why?
Is it necessary for people (like the character of Frank) to shut down their emotions in order to be expert explorers and survivors?
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AGE
Watch it at home.
It was long, intense and sad. A triumphant ending would have saved this movie. It fell flat.
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AGE
Sounds intense..........gonna go see it!!!!!!
Sounds cool, might go see it if it's worth the money. I like James Cameron's movies and think this might be pretty satisfying. If not, who cares, personally the violence doesnt seem as bad to me as many movies rated PG-13.
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AGE
this film is o.k for mature teens one crude joke and thats it. very violent dead bodies might scare tweens but other than that it is fine.
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AGE
Great thriller for teens and up
I took my 13 year old nephew to see this movie not realizing it was rated R! We both really enjoyed the movie and were absolutely on the edge of our seats for the entire last hour of the movie. Once we left the movie I saw that it was rated R and was quite shocked. The language is not that bad and the violence is not that bad. True there are quite a few drownings and scenes with dead people floating around but again I am surprised this film didn't get a PG-13 rating. The 3D is excellent and definitely recomend it to adult and teens.
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AGE
SCARY!!!
this movie is scary, violent and scary.
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Kid, 12 years old
February 13, 2011
AGE
Had some boring part but sometimes the movie was very entertaining
I liked it because it was very suspenseful and made your arm tingle.For suspense lovers this is the movie.People over 12 should watch.
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AGE
Tension in movie, not for anyone with claustrophobia or fear of drowning. Okay for children exposed to violence.
Hated it, I was so scared! It doesn't seem that bad in the beginning but it turns ugly! People kill each other who were once friends! I recommend that no one my age sees this. I am terrified! I have seen movies like "Silence of the Lambs" and "The Sixth Sense" but for me, this is the scariest. I am very claustrophobic and very scared of drowning. During the movie, I forgot about my life and I thought I was a character in the movie and I thought I was going to die! After the movie, I wasn't that hungry. Yet the movie was scary (Not bad, just scary) it had an amazing ending that made my whole day better because who likes a movie that makes you feel bad!
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AGE
Too violent for anyone under 10
In one scary sequence, a character is impaled by a stalactite.
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AGE
Sanctum my review
its a good film but could have been better but its still a great film to watch and very enjoyable!
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| Studio: | Universal Pictures |
| Director: | Alister Grierson |
| Cast: | Ioan Gruffudd, Rhys Wakefield, Richard Roxburgh |
| Genre: | Action/Adventure |
| Run time: | 109 minutes |
| Theatrical release date: | February 4, 2011 |
| DVD release date: | June 7, 2011 |
| MPAA rating: | R |
| MPAA explanation: | language, some violence and disturbing images |
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