Blue Lagoon: The Awakening (2012) Reviews

• A Truly Horrible Movie!

  scottsp102012-06-17

  This has to be one of the worst films I have seen in quite some time. I went into viewing it knowing it had nothing to do with the original. And that was fine because I was looking for a new movie or a re-imagining if you will. So, that is about the only positive thing I could say. At least it is original. But is so very bad. Where to begin? The script? The writers should never be allowed to pen a script again. The dialogue was so cheesy at times and laughable at other times when it supposed to be deep. Some of the back and forth between the leads will make you roll your eyes. Yes, it is that bad. And the actors do nothing to elevate the material. They are bad actors. I don't even know which one is worse. I realize they are generally unknown actors here in the States but I can guarantee that neither will come out of this being considered breakout stars. If you can get passed the writing and acting, let's discuss some of the ridiculous plot points. The two are stuck on the island for two months or so yet the male character never grows a beard, moustache, or chest hair. How is that even possible? His hair doesn't even grow on his head. And the female remains completely smooth as well. Considering the time they are on the island and without the proper materials, this is just way too much for the audience to accept. Now, the two characters engage in a physical relationship and we find out that for the girl, it is her first time. Yet, the male had no clue. Really? Are we not even going to try and discuss how inane that is that he wouldn't know that he has just had sex with a virgin? Whatever. Beyond those things, we have the actual plot of the film. We go from one scene in which the female wants off the island to the very next scene where she is perfectly happy being alone with the male. This happens more than once during the movie. In fact, sometimes we go to a commercial with her in a panic and come back with everything seemingly better. Odd to say the least. When they are finally rescued (in a completely anti-climactic way), they return home and the movie takes an odd turn where both characters as cold towards one another and seem to forget all the bonding and changing they did on the island. This of course, remains the same until the final minute of the movie where they come back together and we are supposed to see just how in love they truly are. Again, whatever. Take special notice of Denise Richards character for a specific point of bad writing meets bad acting as she plays the mother of the missing girl and beyond one failed crying scene, shows next to no realistic emotion over the fact that her daughter could be dead. Everything about this movie screams fake. It just seems to lack a decent plot, cohesive writing and structure, and expects the audience to just accept way too many things that are not consistent. A complete and total failure from start to finish.

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• This was NOT the Caribbean.

  elbeem2000-572-3063002013-01-03

  I am from the Caribbean - and a lot of the scenes of a "desert island" was full of baloney!! My friends and I laughed through this "hoot" of a movie all the way through!! Sooo many inconsistencies and fallacies: Drinking and eating the coconut, fully husked!! A dried coconut is hard to cut and eat! One cannot "pick" fully ripened bananas!! A FULL lagoon AND a waterfall - on a "desert" island!!! First of all, there were no mountains on the "desert island" to have waterfalls. A big black cat; these do not live on any of the Caribbean Islands. Sleeping ON coconut leaves - most uncomfortable!! The "police" had American accents - not Trinidadian accents! Man - wheel and come again!!

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• A Formula Film with a Touch of Subversion

  SentinelPrime2014-01-14

  Okay, I am a little bit embarrassed to be reviewing this film, but I read some other reviews, and I wanted to point out some elements I noticed. I caught this movie by accident one morning when I happened to have a day off. I was just flipping channels when it came on. When I saw what it was, I decided to leave it on while I did other things. What surprised me about the film was the arc for Indiana Evans' character, Emma. While much of the movie was silly, the dialog between the two leads seemed honest in the context of the story and the characters. They actually talked to and got to know one another. Also, unusual for a Lifetime movie, Emma actually takes joy and pleasure in her own sexuality. That the character (not the actor) is a teenager makes for a slightly subversive moment in an otherwise formulaic film. Emma is also the one who misunderstands Dean when they return home, which is nice, as often men are portrayed as misinterpreting signals, and instead Emma misunderstands Dean. Emma and her sister also have a great moment that passes the Bechtel test, in that they do not talk about the men in their lives, but each other. The movie has problems, but the acting is not one of them. I think the two leads are quite good with the material, and they make their characters work despite some obvious holes in the plot. The movie's island scenes were also beautifully filmed. The eponymous lagoon is particularly lovely. Not a spectacular film, but it had a few surprises.

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• cheesy is expected... but the poor acting & writing is not.

  leeloo232012-06-18

  I won't complain about the fact that they didn't grow hair in the movie. I don't care about that. I'll watch Cast Away when I want to see details. Sometimes a movie needs to skip certain details (like how they shaved) in order to stay focused on it's true purpose. For all we know, they used his knife and sharpened it on a rock. But to show us that is too time consuming and dumb. Let's pretend they used his knife to shave and move on. What drove me nuts was the lack of realistic human emotions. Poor Denise Richards. Finally lands an acting gig and boy does she look a bit rusty at it. Here's what I found laughable: SPOILER: 1st... Just 2 months after they are gone, she returns home. Who does that??? I'm sure the sister would rather they keep looking for her sibbling a bit longer! 2nd... Just 2 months after their disappearance, Denise, the mom, starts to pack away her daughter's clothes! WOW! She let that daughter go awfully quick. And without a tear! What a crock. 3rd... the arrival home. This is the WORST scene ever. Not only is it a huge public/media spectacle (in reality it would be a private arrival) but the whole school is there! So are the parents! Everyone waits as if in a queue line. The parents stand there with dorky grins waving when they see their kids come down the escalators... REALLY? You're not running toward your kid who you thought was DEAD! Last... I have a hard time believing, after that traumatic, yet exciting adventure, these 2 would just go their separate ways because of high school kids and their cliques. UGH, stupid, that's my immature reaction and non-lusterous way to describe this movie.

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• two models on a beach

  SnoopyStyle2015-07-29

  Emma Robinson (Indiana Evans) is a popular sweet girl. Her partying friend Lizzie tries to push her to date the hot quarterback. Dean McMullen (Brenton Thwaites) is the angry school outcast. The class goes to Trinidad to do humanitarian work or more like a privileged Caribbean vacation. They go on a party yacht. The police breaks up the party. Emma falls off the boat. Dean jumps in after her. Dean cuts the line not wanting to get in trouble with the cops. They are lost in the ocean and lands on a desolate island. Dean is a real jerk and a true idiot. He is a horrible character. He could be an interesting quiet introspective outcast. Instead, he is really annoying and fully deserves his outcast position. It doesn't help that he's the reason that they're stranded. He caused the whole thing. The movie needs him to save her to start their adventure. On the positive side, it's two beautiful people on a desert island. The time back home is actually more interesting and a bit more compelling. The last act has some good melodrama. Neither of the actors are terribly good although I can't blame anything on their performance. They did what the movie needs but nothing more.

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