Woody Harrelson stars in the survival story “Last Breath”

The majority of the film covers what seems to be a normal mission. Despite the agitated seas, Chris will handle the large diving pods connected to a monitoring ship and descend to the murky and choppy waters. His mentor, Duncan (Harrelson) and Dave (Liu), another saturation diver whose amazing reputation precedes it.

After this last underwater mission, Chris plans to marry in his Scottish hometown. His worried promised one, Morag (Bobby Rainsbury), anxiously and nervously wait for his return. Parkinson and his screenmates, Mitchell LaFortune and David Brooks, organize the first scenes that establish this relationship in such a cliché way that automatically assumes that lemons will not take those votes.

“Humans should not be at the bottom of the North Sea,” Morag tells his fiancee. It is a feeling that Chris has heard more than once.

While we hope that underwater drama will develop, “Last Breath” gives us several uncomfortable scenes on the earth that is presented as the development of the character. Dave is grumpy, and since this is his first mission with Chris, he is not sure of how good his partner is. Dave has two children, but tells Chris that, once the pod is sealed and that they are immersed and pressurized, thinking about loved ones is a dangerous distraction.

The much older Duncan is, you guessed it, making its last mission before being put in grazing. Harrelson uses her Hangdog face and her “AW Shucks” behavior with a good effect here, and it is even better to transmit concern once the action becomes intense.

As we are supposed to be supporting Chris to survive, he would like the “last breath” to have developed his character more. Cole does everything possible with thin material, and there is enough chemistry between the actors, Harrelson and Liu so that we believe they are a cohesive team. (There are many jocular and homoerotic homoerotic coquetones that feel like something that a lot of boring types trapped in a place would do).

I doubt that someone worries too much about the lack of depth of the character. The audience for “Last Breath” is there for dangerous diving developments. The film really offers that goal once the bonds that it provides oxygen for Chris catches in the pipe and breaks. Before looking for help, Dave tells Chris to go to the top of the pipe grilles so he can find him.

Meanwhile, the ship they trust to obtain information and surveillance has its own problems. The ruthless waves and driven by the storm cross the ship, and their computer systems die or become failed. Restart can take almost a whole day, time that they clearly do not.

Parkinson continues to increase tension and suspense, taking it to terror sensitive to time (an account on the screen informs us how long Chris has passed without oxygen to his brain). The film has a wise that records just over 90 minutes, giving an emergency feeling that serves the story. Aqueous recreations are well made; If you fear drowning as much as me, these scenes will be even more effective.

As strange as it seems, the moment I stayed long after I left the theater takes place out of the water. Morag is written as the typical ungrateful role of the woman that a boy will fight against death to return home: he sees her in flashbacks while Chris tries to survive. But Morag has a scene at the end of the film where he moves away from school and looks down in introspection.

The camera catches its reaction, and is a bit charming with the silent performance of Rainsbury that I gasped. The f/x work made me believe that Chris was in danger, but this subtle moment made me believe he was loved.

★★★

Last breath

Directed by Alex Parkinson. Written by Parkinson, Mitchell LaFortune, David Brooks, based on the 2019 film “Last Breath”. Starring Woody Harrelson, Finn Cole, Simu Liu, Bobby Rainsbury. In AMC Boston Common, Alamo Drafthouse Seort, AMC Causeway, Suburbs. 93 minutes. PG-13 (intense underwater danger scenes, blasphemies)

Odie Henderson is Boston Globe’s film critic.