Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		2.5

The Burning Sea Blu-ray Movie Review

Isn't it ironic?

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 both Blu-ray and a 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 bonus features keeps this from being an otherwise solid home video package.

The Burning Sea Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

It's clearly a capable effort with format limitations in mind, but Magnolia Pictures' 1080p transfer of The Burning Sea can't help but come in a reasonably distant second when compared to its 4K counterpart. The film's visual style favors mostly cold and muted colors, with frequent raw lighting and lots of hand-held camerawork that, while not shaky or distracting, is prone to higher noise levels in darkened areas. These moments prove to be slightly more intrusive as the film lurches from one disaster to another: where the 4K disc's more capable 2160p, HDR-enhanced transfer handles the noise and varied black levels much more consistently, the Blu-ray occasionally falls victim to mild compression artifacts, slightly compromised black levels, and less punchy color saturation that helps specific scenes stand out in UHD. Fine detail is still quite good, and even the haziest underwater scenes don't fall victim to banding as much as expected, but there still seems to be some room for improvement here. Of course, I'm making these observations having viewed the 4K disc first, so if you don't have that option these potential problems may not register as strongly.

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

This one-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 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 Blu-ray features an excellent 1080p transfer that's still eclipsed by its absolutely outstanding Dolby Atmos audio. But while this disc scores strongly in all categories except for the extras, only those with absolutely no plans to upgrade to 4K should bother: the UHD/Blu-ray combo pack is a much better buy at its current price point.