When you learn to swim, the key to further engagement and successful persistence is the semblance of progress. Many who quit often lack this sensation of growth. If you feel you are not going anywhere, you do just that: go nowhere. In Dangerous Waters, it isn’t easy to find such progress or direction early on, leading to a distance from engagement, taking away the thrill from this generic thriller. 

In director John Barr’s film Dangerous Waters, mother and daughter Alma (Saffron Burrows) and Rose (Odeya Rush) go on a trip to sail to Bermuda with Alma’s new boyfriend, Derik Stipes (Eric Dane). This voyage takes place on Alma’s birthday. The journey begins as one would expect, with partying, drinking, and, certain, extra exploits. However, after thirty minutes of bad decisions, the trip is interrupted, and so begins a failed attempt to bring suspense to the audience. 

While viewing this film through the lens of a reviewer, I found it frustratingly easy to find the cracks and weaknesses. Sadly, I often found myself thinking to myself, ‘What do I like about this?’ There were strengths that I can identify and commend, but only with a gentle hand. There was one brief moment that almost caught a tear or two, but it only lasted for a second and was quickly torn away with one of the many quick cuts that plague this film. 

The film begins with an irritating 30 minutes of slow, drudging exposition. Dangerous Waters spends, this time, attempting to cast care and empathy upon its characters towards the audience. Instead, it lays flat, leaving the main character, Rose, to feel generic and blandly samey to other protagonists of the genre. Additionally, I found myself unable to care for or appreciate a particular character that the film had hoped to make likable and important, bringing my enjoyment and sustainable attention to a minimum regarding the stakes and intent of Rose’s ultimate motivation. There was one character that I found to be likable early on, but I was saddened by the diminishing quality of the simultaneous greatness and horrendous nature of the character’s writing and acting, which was an issue that was apparent throughout the film.

One of the most notable things was how the dialogue only progressively worsened, along with the dull and nonsensical plot. Although, it is a goal to have the audience guessing a character’s thoughts and motivations. I found it wholly onerous and tedious to follow or understand the thoughts and actions of Rose during her progression throughout the movie. 

Another major critique is the lackluster payoff of the buildup of the character of the “Captain,” played by the tragically passed Ray Liotta. Who is consistently spoken about and raised as this notorious being of unfathomable evil, only to end up with a miserable 3 minutes of disappointing and cringe-worthy dialogue. 

The abhorrent use of quick cuts progressively creates more confusion and leads to an addition of excessive plot holes. By the hour mark of this 100-minute film, the predictable plot twists are revealed, followed by an excessive series of nonsensical events.

Overall, I can honestly say that I do not recommend viewing Dangerous Waters. It is not eye-wrenchingly bad, but it is sincerely a waste of time that I’d advise you to use elsewhere. The predictable and generic plot and noticeably lazy dialogue. I find myself feeling as though this film was simply made to make a film.

4 out of 10