Against the Sun, Teaser review: Water, water everywhere

Harold Dixon (Garret Dillahunt), Radioman Gene Aldrich (Jake Abel), and Bombardier Tony Pastula (Tom Felton) take off from the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise to search for submarines in the glistening waters of the South Pacific. The three men are strangers, assigned to spend an afternoon together, flying a single-engine torpedo bomber. They should be back on board in time for dinner.

But instead of enjoying dinner on the Enterprise, the men find themselves fighting for their lives on a dark ocean in a tiny rubber raft, forced to ditch in the sea after they lose their way and run out of fuel. Their situation is worse than grim, as their plane sinks to the ocean floor, carrying with it all of their emergency supplies, leaving them with no first aid kit, no signalling device, no compass, no food, and no water.

Surrounded by open ocean, with no food, no water, they have little hope of rescue as they are too close to enemy (Japanese) bases. The time is six weeks after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. Against incredible odds, these three virtual strangers--the Chief, a war veteran, and the other two amateur cooks from neighbouring Southern American states--must survive storms, sharks, starvation--and each other--as they try to sail more than a thousand miles/34 days to safety.

Garret Dillahunt (12 Years a Slave,  Looper, Raising Hope) and Jake Abel (Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters), Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy in Harry Potter, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Fangs of War) are in good control of the acting prowess, although lost at sea. Written, directed and produced by Brian Falk (producer of Parkland, The Conspirator), the film can be seen as a mish-mash of 127 Hours, Open Water and Unbroken, but such a premise would be a bit unfair, since it is largely based on a true story. One can only attribute the screenplay and treatment to some influences from these three flicks. Going can be slow, real slow. Some of the details are too elaborate and suggest that the director wants us to stay in 1942, rather than 2015. Yes, the film is set in the world of 73 years ago, but a little editing pace would have help make things more interesting. Dialogue is as expected, full of one-liners. In an almost childish take on the situation, the stranded starving trio indulge in a Barmecide’s Feast, pretending to serve and eat imaginary food and drinks.

American hero sagas have another name added to them. Most such movies suggest that it could be the ‘American X’ factor that sees them through their ordeals and conquests, rather than purely physical and natural factors, and divine intervention. Here again, one would have to grant that American film-makers are hardly likely to sing paeans to heroes, unlikely heroes and survivors of other parts of the world.

Teaser Rating: **1/2

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MYsgLqtEgk