★★★
Israel's Mossad agents attempt to rescue Ethiopian Jewish refugees in Sudan in 1977.
Classification: 15
While its historical relevancy is all the more relevant because of continuing refugee crises across the globe, The Red Sea Diving Resort is never able to transcend into something poignant but does still deliver an watchable thriller. With an all star cast led by the charmingly heroic Chris Evans, the process and methodology of the espionage and danger that led to this modern exodus is fascinating especially for those with little knowledge of the region's history. While obviously trying to emulate similar thrillers such as Hotel Rwanda or Argo, director Gideon Raff isn't able to deliver that same level of much needed tension and instead tries a more "Hollywood" approach with more heightened heroism at the forefront rather than realism.
Evans while likeable delivers a problematic performance as Ari, its his struggle that serves as the main dramatic force rather than the plight of the Ethiopian refugees. While his faith in his complicated plan for refugee extraction pays off he never faces comeuppance for his more brash actions. Raff is more interested in the character drama that plays out from the disagreements Ari has with his supervisors and own team members allowing him take on a more righteous hero role and giving the film an unsavoury white saviour complex. The Red Sea Diving Resort never delivers in selling the dangerous consequences of the plot line even with Chris Chalk's villainous Col. Abdel Ahmed constant suspicions and brutal tactics to foil the spies plans. Michael K. Williams is the audience and character's connection to the refugees as leader Kebede Bimro but his performance is reduced to nothing more than exposition of refugee numbers and emotional sorrow that feels out of place with the rest of the main cast.
Tonally, Raff can't seem to find a common through line in which to tell his story as in the film's best moments the tension can be floundered by the following scenes or unnecessary comedy or music cues. The almost exclusive focus on the Mossad agents while displaying heroism and bravery takes away from the humanitarian crisis the refugees were facing as The Red Sea Diving Resort at times would treat them as a subplot rather than the core of the film's drama. With the exception of Evans as Ari and Nivola as Sammy these characters never receive much in terms of development or growth and any that does happen isn't enough to take the story to anywhere interesting. However despite these flaws the dramatics are still thrilling to watch as the humanitarian mission and Evans charisma is enough to get the audience invested in the victories and failures of the mission.
It's a passable interpretation of the events to the layman but The Red Sea Diving Resort seems to take many dramatic liberties with the conflicts the agents faced against the Sudanese government. Because of Gideon's script taking on a more heroic interpretation the film needs to deliver on heroic sequences for triumph and celebration including conventional scenes of shootouts, chases, montages and scenes of people at computer consoles applauding when the mission is a success. It's entertaining but these decisions seem to detract from the historical context of the events, Raff doesn't address the horror of genocide or really dig deep into any character's personal feelings over the events they are trying to prevent.
It doesn't do enough to be a heartrending historical tale but rather focuses on being a poor imitation of far superior historical rescue refugee thrillers. The Red Sea Diving Resort is entertaining but only because its creative focus is on more traditional Hollywood filmmaking at the expense of a unique voice into this conflict and really highlighting the suffering caused to Ethiopian people. Its faults do detract but what Gaff is able to get working in the film does enough to make it an engaging enough viewing especially for those who may know nothing about this conflict and would use the film as a starting point for their own research into this mission and the greater historical conflict it holds.
Director: #GideonRaff
Cast: #ChrisEvans, #MichaelKWilliams, #HaleyBennett, #MichielHuisman, #AlessandroNivola, #ChrisChalk, #GregKinnear, #BenKingsley
Release Date: July 31st 2019
Available exclusively on Netflix
Trailer:
Written review copyright ©CoreyBullochReviews
Images and Synopsis from the Internet Movie Database
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