Recxpectations: Send Help

Google Synopsis: “A woman and her overbearing boss become stranded on a deserted island after a plane crash. They must overcome past grievances and work together to survive, but ultimately, it's a battle of wills and wits to make it out alive.”

EXPECT: CLASSIC SAM RAIMI
Word order is important here because while this is classic Sam Raimi, I wouldn’t say it’s a Sam Raimi classic. I’d probably put it a notch below “Drag Me To Hell.” But this is Raimi returning to his kind of B-movie roots albeit with obviously a healthier budget. But it still has an offbeat feel, a dark film with a light touch, tinges of horror, a few avert your eyes gross-outs, and just not the usual film you’d expect from a Hollywood studio.

EXPECT: SOME DODGY CGI
One of my steadfast beliefs is: Just because you CAN use CGI doesn’t mean you SHOULD use CGI. I especially felt this in the plane crash scene which I think could have been better with creative editing and close-ups rather than relying on fake-looking CGI. But again, this is a Sam Raimi film so we shouldn’t really be expecting top notch realism out of the FX. Also, so much of this film appears to use CGI that you can almost forgive it for a handful (or more) of clearly fake moments.

EXPECT: A TIK TOK MOVIE
A Tik Tok movie is a film that you can break into 5 - 10 minute episodes and people can easily watch at their leisure - and perhaps start tuning in at any point - and still get most of what the movie was delivering. Trapped on a deserted island movies are always tough but, to me, Send Help especially felt like a collection of episodes rather than a fluid storyline.

EXPECT: THE CLASSIC HOLLYWOOD CONUNDRUM
Don’t get me wrong, Rachel McAdams is great in this and they did a great job of making her look like a loser at the top of the movie but it’s still Rachel McAdams, everyone’s sweetheart. Obviously, Hollywood wants a name for this role but I couldn’t help but think that there was probably a character actor who would have been a better casting job. If this movie was made 10 - 15 years ago, Juliette Lewis would have been the obvious casting choice. Which made me think - who are the new generations’ Juliette Lewises? Gen Z is the easiest thanks to Yellowjackets, with Sophie Thatcher playing a young Juliette Lewis. But who else is there?
Similarly, while I like Dylan O’Brien and he held his own in this film, I think the power dynamic would have been better had his character been portrayed by the bigger actor of the two. (An example of this is Misery, which had a relatively unknown Kathy Bates playing against the more famous James Caan.)