Movie Review: ‘The Burning Sea’

Review by James Lindorf

In 2015 “The Wave” drowned a rural Norwegian village. Three years later, “The Quake” decimated the capital city of Oslo. Parts of the creative team are back, and in 2022 tragedy will strike the North Sea off the coast of Norway. In the late 60s, the Norwegian government discovered the sea was home to one of the world’s largest oil fields and has been harvesting it ever since. When a crack opens up on the ocean floor resulting in the collapse of an oil rig, a team of researchers is sent out to determine if it is an isolated incident or the start of something bigger. As the neighboring rigs are evacuated, Sofia’s (Kristine Kujath Thorp) boyfriend Stian (Henrik Bjelland) becomes trapped in the rig below the ocean’s surface. Sofia and her best friend Arthur (Rolf Kristian Larsen) will have to risk everything to save him. “The Burning Sea” is now available to stream.

Hollywood disaster films tend to put more effort into the action and visual effects of the destruction of the building/city/world the film is taking place. These movies can provide some adrenaline-fueled fun but are often mocked for their wacky scenarios. Following in the path created by its two predecessors, “The Burning Sea” is more character-driven and judicious with its applications of CGI. With a budget around the 10 million dollar range, the CGI has to be kind of sparse, and even then, it isn’t always as effective as it could. It is all confined to the action scenes and the climax, where things are happening at a feverish pace. When you decide a shot may not be working, they are already on to something new.

By focusing more on the characters, “The Burning Sea” is a gloomier, more emotional style of film than most American disaster movies. Dedicating more time to developing a connection between the audience and the people being put in danger or losing loved ones ratchets up the tension. The film may be a new experience emotionally, but it is presented in a comforting package. The plot is exactly what you would expect, and it is unveiled at a familiar pace. It is a bit like getting an upgraded phone. There are a lot of similarities that make the experience familiar, but the changes and new capabilities make the new phone more enjoyable than what you had before. Instead of a better camera and faster processor, the improvements come from the emotional story elements.

“The Burning Sea” is the weakest of the disconnected series. That sounds bad until you consider that an argument can be made that “The Wave” and “The Quake” are among the top 20 or even top 10 best disaster films ever made. The majority of the shortcomings fall on the shoulders of Sofia, who was written as a mere shadow of Kristian Eikjord, the main character from the first two films. Both are dedicated scientists in committed relationships, but Kristian borders on obsessive when it comes to his work. Until his family is in danger and then he possesses the will of a Terminator and his mission is to save them. Sofia never seems willing to go quite as far, and she is as motivated as much by fear of family as her love for Stian. While it doesn’t live up to expectations, in terms of overall filmmaking, “The Burning Sea” is still far better than recent disaster movies like “Greenland,” “2012,” or “The Day After Tomorrow.”

Rating: PG-13 (Some Disturbing Images|Brief Partial Nudity|Peril|Language)
Genre: Disaster, Thriller, Action
Original Language: Norwegian
Director: John Andreas Andersen
Writer: Lars Gudmestad, Harald Rosenløw-Eeg
Release Date: February 25th, 2022
Runtime: 1h 46m
Distributor: Magnet Releasing