47 Meters Down

[RobPNW]

You're not watching documentaries, it's just a typical horror film. Same thing can be said about anything involving the military, law enforcement, or any movie using firearms. It's all made up for theatrical affect and much of what you see is not grounded in reality. The problem is folks that have no experience with any of these topics won't know the difference, so they are more likely to go along with it.

That's the thing. If Hollywood got out of fantasy land, hired consultants that know what they're talking about, and made films more accurate, they'd be far more entertaining. They think more outrageous is more entertaining but that's not how the brain works. If your mind knows it's stupid, it won't take it seriously. If it's in the realm of reality and more believable, it's much more entertaining, to me at least. To each his own.

 

[MrVegas]

I'm proud to say I liked the first one so much I paid to see the sequel in the theater. Got to have a sense of humor, though. Could there be a "47 Meters Down" certification card? You would learn how to safely dive to 47 meters in a Great White infested cave with a single AL80 and no fins. (This is a JOKE, I do NOT recommend that you dive to 47 meters in a Great White infested cave with a single AL80 and no fins.)

There are a few other threads on these movies, and this article is pretty good:

Forget The Sharks: How '47 Meters Down' Fails Dive Science

Breaking down the many, many inaccuracies in the new underwater horror movie.

www.discovermagazine.com

 

[Belzelbub]

That's the thing. If Hollywood got out of fantasy land, hired consultants that know what they're talking about, and made films more accurate, they'd be far more entertaining. They think more outrageous is more entertaining but that's not how the brain works. If your mind knows it's stupid, it won't take it seriously. If it's in the realm of reality and more believable, it's much more entertaining, to me at least. To each his own.

What you say makes sense to us. You have to consider, though, that we are not the target audience for movies like this. They want a wider audience. If only divers watched these types of movies, then I doubt they'd make money.

The average movie goer assumes that a diver carries an oxygen tank which lets them breathe underwater. They have no clue about long that tank lasts, and that it is consumed at a faster rate at 47M than it would be at 10M. They may have heard of "the Bends" and that it means the ascent needs to be slow, but they have no idea what that looks like or really why. They won't know what an AL80 looks like compared to a Steel 120.

I do think a couple of tweaks to the story to make the science work wouldn't have hurt the story in the minds of the bulk of the audience, and may have made it more believable to the educated audience.

 

[boulderjohn]

Ridiculous plot elements are part of all sorts of fiction, be it books, TV, or movies. I have often said that it is what (other than writing talent) keeps me from doing that kind of writing. I could never allow myself to put something ridiculous into the plot, and so I would be barred from any writing team.

Watch a TV crime show and ask yourself why the police there are always required to shout out their presence from a distance when apprehending a suspect, thus giving that suspect time to run and create an exciting chase scene. Ask yourself why, with the police person pointing a gun at a criminal holding a hostage and the hostage demanding the police person put the gun down, the police person always complies, even though pointing the gun at the criminal is the only thing preventing the criminal from shooting the police person and/or the hostage. Police in real life cannot possibly be as imbecilic as they are portrayed by the writers.

 

[Akimbo]

You think that's bad, don't watch the sequel, they are cave diving with no fins at all.

I heard the director didn't like the way frog-kicking looked on screen so eliminated the distraction. Silt-outs are bad for photography.

 

[BlueTrin]

What you say makes sense to us. You have to consider, though, that we are not the target audience for movies like this. They want a wider audience. If only divers watched these types of movies, then I doubt they'd make money.

The average movie goer assumes that a diver carries an oxygen tank which gives lets them breathe underwater. They have no clue about long that tank lasts, and that it is consumed at a faster rate at 47M than it would be at 10M. They may have heard of "the Bends" and that it means the ascent needs to be slow, but they have no idea what that looks like or really why. They won't know what an AL80 looks like compared to a Steel 120.

I do think a couple of tweaks to the story to make the science work wouldn't have hurt the story in the minds of the bulk of the audience, and may have made it more believable to the educated audience.

I guess that would be a bit less dramatic if they replaced it with the following:

* diver looks at the SPG *

“Gosh I overstayed my NDL and will reach my gas reserves in 5 minutes assuming a sac rate of 20l/min which I may or may not reach under stress …”

 

[EFX]

Watch a TV crime show and ask yourself why the police there are always required to shout out their presence from a distance when apprehending a suspect, thus giving that suspect time to run and create an exciting chase scene. Ask yourself why, with the police person pointing a gun at a criminal holding a hostage and the hostage demanding the police person put the gun down, the police person always complies, even though pointing the gun at the criminal is the only thing preventing the criminal from shooting the police person and/or the hostage. Police in real life cannot possibly be as imbecilic as they are portrayed by the writers.

If police were as dumb as they are portrayed on some TV shows (criminal minds come to mind) there wouldn't be any cops alive. The face off you describe between the cops and the perp is better known as the Mexican stand off with or without a hostage. In real life the cop(s) will be shot immediately. What really gets me is when the cop(s), during the stand off, try to talk the perp to put his gun down and come quietly with the police to the station. Most of the time the perp complies. It's not realistic but it sure is entertaining.

 

[RobPNW]

Not sure when this started happening in cop shows but recently I've noticed an annoying plot hole. I was watching a crime drama, the cops were chasing the perp through a house. The guy went out the back door and drove away. The cops then get on the radio and say "he got away" and it cuts to the next scene. I'm like "umm, why can't you run 50 feet around the house, get in your car and chase his azz??? By the time you drive off he'll only be around half way down the street!!!" Nope scene over. That was one of the best parts of cop shows in the past- epic car chases.

 

[EFX]

If they did that it would cut the show time in half. They have to fill in the time and make it more exciting. Yeah, car chases are exciting to a point and their demise on crime shows might be a reflection of the fact that the police, in real life, have backed off from these chases because of the threat of causing accidents which might result in the death of innocent life.

Getting back to scuba diving in the movies/TV shows, Hollywood has got us accustomed to high speed blow 'em up scenes. I think it was the movie "blue water" which depicts the divers racing around some wrecks trying to escape the villains while trying to find treasure. The action belies the true essence of the slow relaxing sport that scuba diving is.

 

[rjgiddings]

These movies are now in their own category of Shark Camp...blame lays at the feet of Steven Spielberg...but admittedly I love them all. Its a guilty pleasure. So far removed from reality I just chuckle the whole time. Jaws, The Shallows, 47 Meters, Sharknado, Deep Blue Sea. The list is growing every year now, seems like.