International agents and brave Ethiopians use a deserted retreat in Sudan as a front to smuggle thousands of refugees to Israel in the early 1980s.
There are so many times when I watch a film and think to myself that it would have been a better film if it didn't have any big names in the cast list. There are many actors that have been certain roles so competently that it is really hard to see them as anything else, and that can prevent the audience from getting properly immersed in a film.
Such is the case for Hugh Jackman and Wolverine, Robert Downey Jr. and Iron Man, and as is the case now with Chris Evans and Steve "Captain America" Rogers from the Marvel Cinematic Universe (especially when he still has the exact same look that he had in Avengers: Infinity War). The two are so closely intertwined that they are practically one and the same. That all being said, I don't know if I would have wanted to watch this film if I hadn't seen he was in it.
Captain America and the Red Sea Diving Resort is based on true events where Jewish Ethiopians were being persecuted, and Mossad agents were trying to covertly help these now-refugees to escape to safety. The fact that this is a true story makes it that much more engaging and intriguing. Yet, this thriller failed to thrill.
A lot of the issues with the film could be put down to its portrayal of events; the choice in perspectives. This is a story about an operation to help these Jewish people escape death and persecution. People that have to move with children across thousands of miles of desert, traverse waterways, avoiding the military, and hiding in cramped places with no protection, food, or medical supplies. Red Sea Diving Resort doesn't focus on that though.
We get a quick couple of scenes at the start of the film with a shot of bleeding feet, and one refugee complaining later on in the film, but otherwise, we spend most of our time with the Mossad agents at the resort watching them drink, relax, and do Tai Chi with tourists. It is a complete contradiction.
To really draw the audience in, the film needs to ensure the audience is 100% behind what the Mossad agents are trying to do. We need to understand why anyone needs to assist them in escaping from their home. That air of tension, suspense, and danger are largely missing from the film. This isn't helped by certain choices in the soundtrack, or with particular montages that are in place, as they all emit a completely different tone to what the film really needs. We end up with a lighthearted drama, rather than a tense thriller.
There are some great performances from Haley Bennett, Michiel Huisman, Alessandro Nivola, and Alex Hassell, and when it comes to these four members working together as a team, it's exciting to watch. However, they get little screentime compared to Captain America, who gets to outrun bullets as he singlehandedly saves peoples lives. The film would have benefitted from being a little less "American Hero" in its portrayal of Chris Evans' character (the best example of the style that would have worked best is the Chinese Sci-Fi, The Wandering Earth, which relied on the success of the team members combined, not a single over-powered and over-skilled individual).
The cinematography is fine, and there is some excitement when it comes to the action scenes, but without a strong emotional investment in what is going on, nothing feels all that important. Would Red Sea Diving Resort be better without Chris Evans in it? It's difficult to say. Would it have been a better film if it had focused more on the plight of the refugees? Without a doubt.
It is still a great story of people risking their lives to help others, and to that end, Red Sea Diving Resort has good value and is worth a watch.