Whalefall Review: Strong Whale Scenes, a Weaker Family Story, and a 2.9 Out of 5

Whalefall is at its best when Austin Abrams is in the ocean and in the belly of the whale, and at its weakest when it leaves that adventure for a father and son story I didn't care about. Today I'm landing on 2.9 out of five, though I'll admit that number could move.

The film stars Austin Abrams alongside Josh Brolin and the actress who plays his mom, and I'm always happy when she's in something. I went in knowing almost nothing. All I knew, because it's in the trailer, is that it's about a guy who gets swallowed by a whale, and my question was how they were going to pull that off.

The whale sequences in Whalefall are the reason to see it

I think the thing that sold a lot of people on this movie was the beginning, seeing him get eaten by the whale. You feel it, you're stressed out, and that's why you want to see the movie. Those parts of the movie are awesome.

When he's in the water, the way they shoot the ocean, the scenes with the whale itself, and the gross stuff he has to go through inside it all work. It gets very close to horror at times. The music's real good, by the way, and the directing of the sea material is great.

Austin Abrams gets a Tom Hanks moment and keeps raising his game

The movie has to really rely on Austin Abrams' acting chops, which is a good thing, because he keeps topping himself every time. I said this right after I left the theater and I'll say it again here: it says a lot about someone this early in their career when filmmakers or studios trust them enough to give them a Tom Hanks moment like Cast Away, or the kind of moment the lead actor of Project Hail Mary gets.

That's essentially what he has to do. There is a side story where he's interacting with other actors, but the majority of the movie really is him in the ocean, figuring out how he's going to get out of the whale. That's all the stuff I liked.

Josh Brolin isn't used properly in the father and son story

The problem is there's more than just the stuff in the whale. I am a big Josh Brolin fan, and he's not used properly here. He's a little stereotypical and gruff, the father who's really hard on his son, with lines about being one with the fish and one with the sea. It's kind of goofy at times, and that relationship is essentially what the whole thing is about. I just didn't care about it.

It seemed to me more like a directing choice to make him something of a caricature. He doesn't seem like a real character. Elisabeth Shue, as the mom, felt warm and more real, a sad mom dealing with everything going on in the family. I cared more about his interactions with her, and I would have liked to see more of that connection. Apparently, the father story isn't that good in the book either.

A theme park rush rather than a movie you'll remember forever

When you're locked into the adventure of the whale, that's all you've got, and it almost turns into something like going to Universal Studios. You get that kind of adrenaline. But is it one of those movies where people tell you, "That's a movie you're going to remember forever"? No.

It's a good experience to see in the theater, on the edge of your seat a few times, wondering how he's going to get out of this thing. And then you kind of forget about it. Outside of the sea material, it was almost like, wrap it up, let's get back to the whale.

I don't know exactly where I'm going to land long term. Maybe it's just the mood I'm in, and tomorrow it could be a three, but today I'm at 2.9 out of five for Whalefall.

Did the Whalefall trailer make you want to see it?