The Red Sea Diving Resort focuses on Ari Levinson, played by Chris Evans, an Israeli Mossad agent who’s tasked with evacuating Ethiopian-Jewish refugees to Israel. Along with Kabede Bimro, played by Michael K. Williams, Levinson leads a rescue mission that involves renting the titular hotel, which was abandoned long ago, and using it as a front to extract refugees out of the country. Though things take a turn when actual tourists begin staying at the hotel, causing Levinson and his team to really double down on their operation.
While the film is loosely based on the events of rescue missions Operation Moses and Operation Joseph in 1984-1985, it fails to really do much in terms of making the story stand out. The result of this feels like a by-the-numbers version of Argo, which also dealt with a group of agents creating a front to pull off a rescue mission. But whereas Argo had characters with distinct personalities and clear motivations, The Red Sea Diving Resort features characters who have been seen in countless other movies before.
Nearly every character in this film doesn’t really have much of a motivation to do anything, other than the fact that they “have to do this.” They remain completely stoic and serious because they have to always focus on the mission at hand and it’s their job. There’s never really anything learned about these characters, what they think, or how they feel. While the film tries to focus on the mission first and foremost, it tosses any sort of character development to the side, making it difficult to actually care about these people.
The film is at least well acted, and does contain a talented cast. Other familiar names pop up, such as Ben Kingsley and Greg Kinnear, and everyone in the cast does at least try. But try as they might, it’s hard to really take them too seriously when they spew vague platitudes such as, “you’re all too reckless” or “I used to be the best,” without ever caring to explore much beyond heavy-handed phrases.
There are some thrilling action scenes here and there, but beyond that, there’s rarely a moment that the audiences can find engaging. While the film deals with serious subject matter, it is a totally somber experience, nearly to the point of joyless. There are way too many scenes to count of characters sitting around, discussing the mission, arguing with each other, but never really exploring a “why” to their arguments, and the film soon becomes a drag, with its 130 minute run time feeling stretched out to no end.
The Red Sea Diving Resort focuses on some interesting subject matter but fails to capitalize on its compelling premise. It’s well-acted, but the characters aren’t really likable, with each of them being reduced to tropes and spewing cliches, never having a real motivation as to why they do the things they do. It’s an unpleasant, experience that’s way too serious for its own good, resulting in a boring two hours that could have been spent watching similar films that handled its subject matter with much more intrigue.
Recommendation: Avoid It
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