The Burning Sea is the latest in a string of great-looking, well-acted Norwegian disaster films. It comes from The Quake director John Andreas Andersen and The Wave writer Harald Rosenløw-Eeg, the latter of whom cowrote this feature with Lars Gudmestad. The result is a thrilling epic boasting highly impressive CGI effects, fine performances, and solid direction.
Andersen, Rosenløw-Eeg, and Gudmestad focus on making emotionally relatable characters that viewers can get behind before the titular catastrophe occurs. Sofia (Kristine Kujath Thorp in a terrific emotional and physical performance) is a submersible drone pilot who shares a loving relationship with her boyfriend Stian (Henrik Bjelland), an oil rig technician who has a young son. She also has a well-grounded professional relationship with her work partner Arthur (Rolf Kristian Larsen). Viewers get to know these characters well, so that when things inevitably go awry with the effects of offshore oil drilling on continental plates, we are genuinely invested in what happens to these people.
And things do go spectacularly bad, as Stian is trapped as the sole remaining employee on a collapsed oil rig, with the powers that be judging it useless to attempt a rescue mission. Also, the oil spread in the sea could cause ecological damage around the world for decades, if not longer, if it isn’t contained. As Sofia and Arthur take it on themselves to try to rescue the abandoned Stian, Norwegian politicians and oil company executives make decisions that put the trio even further in harm’s way.
Like its Norwegian disaster-movie predecessors, The Burning Sea delivers edge-of-the-seat suspense and thrills with special effects that rival, if not sometimes surpass, Hollywood efforts in the genre. Aficionados of cataclysms in their cinema should find this one to be must-see viewing.
Magnet Releasing will releaseThe Burning Sea in theaters and on demand February 25, 2022.
