The Last Breath Review: Is the Underwater Thriller Worth Watching?

The Last Breath is a horror-thriller released on July 26, 2024. Boasting of a plot that appears to be straight out of the world of Jaws, the movie focuses on a group of friends who decide to explore the wreckage of a World War II battleship, the USS Charlotte, but end up getting trapped inside the rusting labyrinth of the ship.

The most obvious problem that they face is that they are surrounded by a plethora of great white sharks, leading to a stunning thriller that sees the group fight for their survival.

The movie has the following official synopsis:

“A group of old college friends reunite on a Caribbean scuba diving trip exploring the wreckage of a WWII battleship and find themselves trapped inside the underwater labyrinth of rusted metal surrounded by great white sharks.”

The Last Breath has been directed by Joachim Hedén and stars the likes of Kim Spearman, Julian Sands, and Alexander Arnold. It has, to date, not received favorable reviews and has a 4.4 IMDB rating, along with a measly 27 percent Tomatometer score.

While it is still early days to judge the narrative based on the limited viewer responses, there might be a range of reasons why it has not received the kind of response the creators would have been hoping for.

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The Last Breath: A detailed review

The Last Breath has a rather straightforward plot, albeit that itself gives the narrative unlimited possibilities. A group of college friends reunite after a long time and decide to go on an underwater adventure. They decide to explore the long abandoned WWII battleship USS Charlotte, but end up getting trapped inside the wreckage.

With dwindling levels of oxygen, the group attempts to escape and survive despite being surrounded by deadly great white sharks. Released on July 26, 2024, The Last Breath featured a range of recognizable stars and has an overall runtime of 92 minutes. However, there are some obvious issues when it comes to the overall narrative itself.

The movie transports viewers to the beautiful British Virgin Islands, where Julian Sands’ Levi and Jack Parr’s Noah have managed to locate the abandoned warship. While the movie also featured throwback scenes from the 1940s, showing the USS Charlotte being torpedoed by an enemy submarine, it throws a predictable, almost one-dimensional narrative that is not helped by the kind of dialogue that the movie features.

The concept of the ship being explorable itself revolves around how various tropical storms have manage to remove the sand from the wreckage to explore its entrance. However, while exploration is one thing, the decision of the group to enter this wrecked gate to have a look inside bears the look of a suicide mission, rather than a vacation for a group of friends who meet after years.

Furthermore, one look through the reviews of the movie also suggest that the acting and the characterization may also be problematic, considering the major characters all showcase overused quirks and cliches that enable the group to embark on the astoundingly suicidal mission.

The group appears smug at times, and do not quite seem to appreciate the threat that surrounds the wreckage in the form of sharks.

This leaves their fates feeling well-deserved, considering any group of right-minded individuals might not even embark on such a mission. Regardless, The Last Breath also features a predictable plot, and also seems to have taken in quite a few troupes from previous shark-thrillers.

However, it might still be a decent option for a one-time watch, also considering the kind of picturesque scenes and locations that are featured in the movie. Perhaps the most impressive aspect of the movie is its underwater cinematography, considering the way in which it captured scenes that featured sharks and other underwater flora and fauna.

The Last Breath is currently playing in theaters across the USA.