Sanctum

Its downfall is its cliché-riddled and fusty script.

Despite the millions clearly poured into it, the film feels cheap and amateurish. See it on IMAX if you wish, but the flaws will only look bigger.

Sometimes the sets look like, well, Styrofoam. So do the actors.

Stick that camera down an aquatic cave, wrap a paper-thin plot around it, slap the whole thing up on an IMAX screen and call it a movie. More truth in advertising: Call it a lame movie.

After a sluggish half hour, this well-crafted adventure kicks into high gear and never lets up.

There's just water, water everywhere - and no one stops to think.

Coupled with Frank's borderline sociopathic 'survival of the fittest' philosophy and his son Rhys Wakefield's bland sulkiness, there's not one likeable character to care about when things go wrong.

I couldn't wait for these people to drown.

While Sanctum isn't a great film, it's enjoyable for the thrilling element.

The strong special effects can't overcome the story's sour focus on pain and hopelessness.

Mixed in with flat characters and tense action is an incredible 3D visual component - which is where Cameron's involvement in the project is most apparent.

It's a continuing clash between laughably poor acting and ultra-serious brow-furrowing that renders Sanctum unintentionally hilarious, thereby deflating it completely.