Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.5

The Burning Sea 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Driller killer.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III June 6, 2022

A spiritual sequel to both The Wave and The Quake, John Andreas Andersen's thriller The Burning Sea unleashes yet another tale of Norwegians in peril. All three concern ecological disasters brought on by some kind of human catalyst, framing the prospect of family or individual survival around a backdrop of terror created by convincing visual effects. Despite its more wide-open oceanic setting (when not confined to control rooms, of course), The Burning Sea feels like a more intimate, dialed-back affair than both previous films... but it also features a massive oil rig explosion triggered by an underwater rift that swallows up several full-sized ships, so not exactly a regular day at the office.

Owing its atmosphere of unsettling suspense to both previous films and HBO's landmark mini-series Chernobyl (with bookending segments that vaguely recall Interstellar, just for good measure), The Burning Sea's structure will seem familiar to even the most casual fan of disaster films. Things start off innocently enough with the introduction of Sofia (Kristine Kujath Thorp) and Stian (Henrik Bjelland); she's a robotics engineer for Eelume (a real company that designs eel-like underwater exploratory devices) and he's a offshore oil rig worker... and a loving dad to Odin (Nils Elias Olsen), whose birth mother is no longer in the picture. One morning, Sofia and Stian are nearly separated after an accident on his rig leads to several watery deaths, prompting her company's investigation. Together with her co-worker Arthur (Rolf Kristian Larsen), Sofia discovers a massive rift in the waters below, which may have been exacerbated by decades of drilling. Nonetheless, her warnings to oil rig rep William Lie (Bjørn Floberg) go mostly unheeded.

Naturally, real disaster strikes soon enough: after hasty attempts to shut off the surrounding oil valves fail, the chasm ruptures and absolutely devastates the surrounding waters and everything in it. Stian's oil rig partially collapses into the sea in a fiery blaze, leading to a catastrophic oil spill that threatens several countries with a devastating ecological fallout that may take decades to clean up, if not centuries. Faced with very few options, Lie and company -- which now includes Oil and Energy Minister Steina Skagemo (Christoffer Staib), among others -- are forced to either begin the grueling cleanup process or burn the thick, floating oil slick before it spreads. Since the film's title basically gives their decision away, it's pretty obvious which option they ultimately choose... but it's made without the knowledge that Sofia, Stian, and Arthur are not only still on board the decimated oil rig but very much alive... for now, at least.

The Burning Sea works very well in the moment, as its solid performances and outstanding visual effects manage to mostly disguise what's ultimately a clichéd story that relies on too many coincidences, close calls, piled-on dangers, and the overcooked family drama that hangs loosely overhead. It's really not all that much more narratively advanced than your average Roland Emmerich flick (including this year's Moonfall), but the real-world sensibilities and more believable stakes at its core help to keep everything bound together reasonably well. It's also far less preachy than expected and, if nothing else, is at least more responsible than the completely wrong-headed Deepwater Horizon, a film that never once bothered to hold anyone accountable for the historical events cheaply dramatized on-screen.

Arriving on Blu-ray and this superior 4K/Blu-ray combo pack from Magnolia Pictures, The Burning Sea features an absolutely top-tier A/V presentation that makes one hope The Wave and The Quake will get the same treatment soon. Only a complete lack of extras keeps this from being an otherwise well-rounded home video package.

The Burning Sea 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

NOTE: This review's screenshots are sourced from the included Blu-ray. For more 1920x1080 images, as well as my thoughts on that disc's 1080p SDR transfer, please see my review of that separate release.

Although The Burning Sea features a different cinematographer than The Wave and The Quake (both of which were shot by John Christian Rosenlund), its mostly dark and muted appearance should feel familiar to fans of those films. It's a solid foundation for what looks to be an exceptionally strong 2160p transfer on Magnolia Pictures' 4K UHD disc, which features either Dolby Vision or HDR10 capability depending on your setup's HDR capabilities. I made use of the former and found it to be a very worthwhile enhancement for an already great image, one that bolsters The Burning Sea's specific visual appearance with smooth color gradients, outstanding shadow detail, and especially bright whites that stand out against otherwise darkened locations -- specific examples include the third act rescue attempt, where both a light gray overcast sky and flashlight beams shine brightly without sacrificing image detail in other areas other areas of the picture. Elsewhere, specific colors also stand out strongly such as the titular flames against pitch-black smoke and sea water, as well as explosions that consume a large portion of the tightly composed 2.39:1 frame. Fine details are likewise strong in close-ups and wide shots alike, and no obvious encoding-related issues -- banding, posterization, or other compression artifacts -- could be spotted along the way, except for a few trace moments in some of the darkest sequences. Overall, it's a top-tier effort that clearly makes this 4K disc the better option if you're set up for it.

The Burning Sea 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Anyone familiar with the previous two films should be expecting great things from this disc's dual Dolby Atmos audio mixes (one for the original Norwegian, as well as a surprisingly not terrible English dub), and that's exactly what you get here. This is unquestionably a more subdued film than The Wave and The Quake -- one that isn't all-out apocalyptic disaster for more than a few minutes at a time, but when the shit hits the fan you'll really feel the impact from any and all angles. Explosions and deep, churning waves generated by an underwater disturbance are easy standouts, as are moments of rushing water overhead and a couple of well-placed helicopter fly-bys. Yet one of the film's most instantly memorable audio moments occurs late in the film, where the groans and creaks of intense pressure on a lifeboat's outer hull produce an uneasy tension that's extremely effective -- it reminded me of a particular scene from the often overlooked nautical adventure film Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World , whose audio mix ranks among the best on home video. Elsewhere, dialogue and background music are well-prioritized and rarely have to fight for attention, and both language tracks seem to have similar (if not identical) volume levels and dynamic ranges.

Optional English subtitles are offered in three varieties: a literal translation for the original Norwegian track, as well as SDH and standard subtitles for the English dub. All three also translate prominent signage and on-screen text.

The Burning Sea 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This two-disc release ships in a standard keepcase with busy poster-themed cover artwork and a promotional insert. While both The Wave and The Quake featured a few bonus features, this release sadly includes none at all.

Just so you don't leave empty-handed, here's the mostly wordless but kinda spoiler-heavy theatrical trailer.

The Burning Sea 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

John Andreas Andersen's The Burning Sea will obviously appeal to those impressed by The Wave and The Quake, both disaster-heavy dramas with fantastic visual effects that don't overshadow the characters. Its similar DNA is somewhat softened by a weaker story this time around; one that clearly relies on more coincidences and base-level emotions than both slightly superior predecessors. But The Burning Sea survives these potential handicaps for the most part, and its slightly more refined levels of tension create undeniably memorable moments that make it well worth checking out. Magnolia's 4K disc is a pleasant surprise indeed, serving up a strong 2160p, HDR-enhanced transfer that's nearly as good as its absolutely outstanding Dolby Atmos audio. Only the complete lack of extras works against it... but at its current price of only $2 more, this 4K combo pack is a much better buy than the standard Blu-ray edition.