30
Metascore
24 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 70Los Angeles TimesKevin ThomasLos Angeles TimesKevin ThomasIt's increasingly hard to work up a fright on the screen these days, but even if The Cave doesn't exactly terrify, it's fun and looks great.
- 60L.A. WeeklyL.A. WeeklyDespite the striking underwater photography and production values, much of this feels like Alien: Stalagmite Edition. But if it isn't original, The Cave does demonstrate that you can always elevate threadbare material by keeping your ambitions modest.
- It's not original, but unlike some of this summer's movies (such as The Island and Stealth), The Cave knows its place. Its job is to deliver a few jolty thrills and a couple of laughs and wrap things up before it starts to get too dumb.
- 40TV Guide MagazineKen FoxTV Guide MagazineKen Fox"Alien" redux.
- 40VarietyRobert KoehlerVarietyRobert KoehlerRefreshing strokes of science-fact in the early sections give way to action strictly from the Ridley Scott-James Cameron playbook, but without a powerful helmer behind the camera or a memorable cast in front.
- 38Charlotte ObserverLawrence ToppmanCharlotte ObserverLawrence ToppmanThe writers supply character traits that seem to point toward a pay-off but never reach one. People all end up as tight-lipped, indistinguishable automatons who plummet 50 feet down jagged rocks with scarcely a scratch.
- 38USA TodayClaudia PuigUSA TodayClaudia PuigThe screenplay is thin, the dialogue lacks nuance and the acting is often laughable.
- 30The Hollywood ReporterKirk HoneycuttThe Hollywood ReporterKirk HoneycuttA bottomless pit of lame characters, horror-film cliches and improbable monsters.
- 25Seattle Post-IntelligencerSean AxmakerSeattle Post-IntelligencerSean AxmakerThe utter lack of tension or suspense is as dumbfounding as Hunt's blender approach to editing, which purees action scenes into incoherent mashes of image confetti.
- Not only is the film dreadfully dull: every time something potentially exciting does occur, the scenes are so muddled and chaotic that it is impossible to make out what is happening.