46
Metascore
9 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 65Film ThreatRob RectorFilm ThreatRob RectorBy taking its time setting the stakes for all involved, when the action strikes, its impact is witnessed more through the cast rather than a cadre of CGI explosions.
- 63Movie NationRoger MooreMovie NationRoger MooreAny time you can top your tale of crisis, calamity and heroism with sacrifice, pathos and a hopeful message, you call that a “win,” in Hollywood or Aelsund.
- 63RogerEbert.comSimon AbramsRogerEbert.comSimon AbramsThe Burning Sea may ultimately be too uptight for its own good, but there’s enough here to satisfy disaster aficionados who’ve already been here before and only really want to root for more of the same.
- 58IndieWireRobert DanielsIndieWireRobert DanielsFor a movie so intuitively captivating, so visually extravagant, it very nearly papers over all its emotional weaknesses.
- 50Slant MagazineClayton DillardSlant MagazineClayton DillardThe film drops any interest in the blurring of fact and fiction as it settles into a rote account of a contemporary oil rig catastrophe.
- 50The New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisThe New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisWe get little more than a bland romance, smoothly professional special effects and a story that’s finally too predictable to raise the heart rate.
- 40VarietyOwen GleibermanVarietyOwen GleibermanThe movie has every right to be fiction, but the heart of its drama lies in its patina of plausibility.
- 40Los Angeles TimesNoel MurrayLos Angeles TimesNoel MurrayThe film as a whole, though, never hits as hard as it should. The characters are too stock — generic enough that their personalities won’t distract from the looming apocalyptic trouble.
- 40The GuardianLeslie FelperinThe GuardianLeslie FelperinA regular beat of tension and release plays out as people get saved only to face new dangers, following the template of disaster films since the beginning of cinema, but it’s done well here. The visual effects are impressive, especially the water, which is so notoriously hard to animate.