UNDERWATER is the latest ALIEN rip-off and another "underwater base" flick in the spirit of THE ABYSS and LEVIATHAN. Sadly, it's a distinctly average movie let down by a ton of murky underwater photography which is almost as boring as the lengthy undersea scenes in THUNDERBALL. You can't make out what's going on in these scenes apart from an overload of CGI and they're really disappointing. The rest is a predictable story with the usual disaster staples and sudden deaths, although it gets more interesting towards the climax. I'm a huge Lovecraft fan so I loved the main creature in this, although the human-size ones are too obviously ALIEN derived. Kristen Stewart is a poor choice for lead but Jessica Henwick and Vincent Cassel are better. UNDERWATER's okay, but you'd be better off sticking with LEVIATHAN for a more-fun movie.

Norah Price (Kristen Stewart) is a mechanic working at the Kepler drilling station, located in the Mariana Trench at the bottom of the ocean. The water starts crushing parts of the station and Norah tries to escape with a few other survivors.

This thriller starts almost right away which leads to my initial complaint. The movie does not lay out the setting or give a sense of place before it throws the audience around. I question some of the damage and the construction of the station. Any leaks under that water pressure would be much more damaging. A drip would turn into a water drill that could slice through something solid. I don't like the science in this sci-fi. The movie also needs to lay out the journey in some more detail. There is a quick exposition and map presentation but it skims it a little. I would prefer more clarity. As for the creature feature, it's not anything special. Non of this is anything special. As always, the girls are eventually left hanging out in their underwear although the movie does give a passable explanation. All in all, this is nothing special. There are a few minor thrills. Things happen. It's one thing after another until it's not. It's a popcorn flick of little consequence.

Kristen Stewart plays a mechanical engineer (first unbelievable part) on the deep water "Kepler" drilling station owned by TIAN. While brushing her teeth there is a hull breech and the film is in full action and survival mode. Not too hard to figure out (before she does) that there is something out there. They drilled too deep.

For some reason it reminded me of Jaws 3D. There was no introduction of characters. We are introduced to the mining operation through news clips during the opening credits. It was weak. I would have rather have seen a group conversation over the issues while building character. Kristen Stewart spends part of film running around in poor lighting in bra and panties. She is no Jane Russell.

Guide: 1 quick muttered F-word. No sex or nudity.