This Review Reveals Minor Details About the Plot.
Survivors Survive
Plot Overview
From his earliest days Jay's ocean
oriented father Mitt Gardiner (Josh Brolin) has inculcated basic
water survivor skills in him. When older Jay (Austin Abrams) moved
to Iowa far away from any large body of water. His dad in declining
health ended life on his own terms. Now his son has returned to
retrieve his body on a solo dive off Monastery Beach in California.
With a scant
one hour of air in his tank, ill-starred Jay gets entangled in some
line while being swallowed whole by a sperm whale as it's preying
on a giant squid. From deep inside the whale's guts, Jay must fight
his way out using his neglected training and whatever
incidental scraps the fish has ingested.
Ideology
Jay's story is noteworthy along the
lines of, (Prov. 30:24)
“There be four things which are little upon the earth, but
they are exceeding wise:”
(Prov. 30:25) “The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer.” The first nugget of wisdom is to start working young, in the summer of life. Jay was working on his father's boat as soon as he was able. He studied the ocean. He learned chemistry like the composition of the atmosphere. He read books like John Steinbeck.
(Prov. 30:26) “The conies are but a feeble folk, yet make they their houses in the rocks.” The second piece of wisdom is having a good location. The wee conies dug in safely among the rocks. Jay has got a full ride scholarship in Iowa. Way to go!
(Prov. 30:27) “The locusts have no king, yet go they forth all of them by bands.” Next he needs an informal support network. Inside the whale he uses a newfound buddy jellyfish as a flashlight. The whale summons others from afar to fight off an attack of orcas. In the water a pleasure craft rescues him half drowned. He is aided in recovery by his mother & sister, and his girlfriend provides more personal attention.
(Prov.
30:28) “The spider taketh hold with her hands, and is
in kings' palaces.” Finally, he had to seize opportunity to
make his place in the world. The king's palace gets swept
regularly, so when that happens, the arachnid has to take her hands
and construct a whole new web. Life is full of setbacks so the
enterprising man has to take his situation in hand and start
over. He's got two good hands. Use them.
Production Values
“” (2026) was directed by Brian Duffield. It was written by Brian Duffield and Daniel Kraus. It stars Austin Abrams and Josh Brolin. Brolin looked the part and Abrams acted his. The acting was fair to middling.
It was rated PG–13 for peril, violent content, bloody images, some strong language, and thematic content. The theater was more crowded than usual, people taking advantage of the big screen. I would have liked to see something more to distinguish flashback from real time. Runtime ≈ 1¾ hours.
Review Conclusion w/a Christian's Recommendation
Mitt had a large tattoo starting the “Our Father” on his back, so there would have been religious instruction in his home. Being stuck inside a whale would have been a good time to pray, but Jay didn't follow Jonah's example. He had an epiphany, nonetheless, along the lines of author Bruce Olds:
Towards just what holy extremities, the poets have asked, does an experience unlike any other, be it public or private, … towards what consecrated ground is the profound strangeness of such an occasion apt to shoulder us? When one bestrides the realm where that rough god goes riding—and ragged muse presumes—towards what is one finally propelled but its threshold, that outermost edge, the inevitable margin of uncertainty (256)
Movie Ratings
Action factor: Edge of your seat action-packed. Suitability for Children: Suitable for children 13+ years with guidance. Special effects: Absolutely amazing special effects. Video Occasion: Fit For a Friday Evening. Suspense: Keeps you on the edge of your seat. Overall movie rating: Four stars out of five.
Works Cited
Scripture quoted from the King James Version. Pub. 1611, rev. 1769. Software.
Olds, Bruce. Bucking the Tiger. Copyright © 2001 by Bruce Olds. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2001. Print.
bibles.n7nz.org