Last Breath

We've all seen films based on true stories, but with "Last Breath", its director Alex Parkinson, actually directed a documentary of this story in 2019,and even though this screenplay was based on the book by Metfilm, the documentary was produced by Metfilm as well. Other films based on true stories typically aren't followed by a documentary chronicling the film.

This story is a heart pounding film that follows seasoned deep-sea divers, including Duncan Allock (Woody Harrelson), Dave Yuasa (Simu Liu) and Chris Lemons (Finn Cole), as they battle the raging elements to rescue a crew mate trapped hundreds of feet below the ocean's surface. Between this crew and the captain, Andre Jenson (Cliff Curtis) and Craig (Mark Bonnar), time is everything. Based on a true story, "Last Breath" is an electrifying story about teamwork, resilience and a race against time to do the impossible.

Others to round out the cast are MyAnna Buring as Hanna, 1st officer, Josef Altin as DPO, Bobby Rainsbury as Morag, Chris' fiance, Connor Reed as Andrew, ROV pilot, Nick Biadon as Stuart, B Team, Riz Khan as Kirk, B Team and Aldo Silvio as Brad, B Team.

This was seamlessly and intensely directed by Alex Parkinson ("The Born Free Legacy" (TV movie) '10, "Seven Days That Made the Fuhrer" (TV movie) '13, "Last Breath" (documentary) '19, "Lucy, the Human Chimp" (TV movie) '21,"Living with Leopards" '24) plus TV. Since this filmmaker has experience that relays to productions that are based in reality including a documentary, that experience would definitely allow this director to chronicle a film that is based on a true story and make it more realistic than that of most other directors. He certainly knows how to create an atmosphere of sheer tension and intensity to convey to the audience this horrendous story. It was penned well by writers, Mitchell LaFortune, Alex Parkinson and David Brooks, based on the book, "Last Breath" by Metfilm.  None of these writers have a tremendous amount of experience, however, what they bring to the table is helpful. What experience they do have has served them, and will ground them as better writers when they receive more work. This script, considering the limited experience, is a juggernaut of a script--what with Parkinson's incredible input in the documentary of "Last Breath" back in 2019. 

If you're into a real nail-biter, this is the film for you. I understand now why it's only 90 minutes long. With all these divers went through, this length of a running time probably is all an audience could endure. The large screen is where this needs to be viewed since the ship is is the middle of a horrible storm at night in the North Sea. Grab your seat and hold on tight!

Out of 4 Stars: 4                                       Rated: PG-13                                              92mins.