This well-made adventure movie has a lot to offer : colourful travels, maritime and naval stunts, riveting war scenes, exotic scenery and a fine performance by a charismatic lead actor. Sadly enough the movie also suffers from over-predictability.
A question. What will happen if a handful of dangerous people who do not particularly like or trust each other become a team involved in an illegal enterprise ? And what if they're after a prize so great that it could tempt a Franciscan friar ? If your answer is : "I would not be surprised to see tension, in-fighting, treachery and homicide", then congratulations, you've just predicted 70 to 80% of the movie, including the ending. And no, it does not help that the movie indulges in so much foreshadowing.
Even the theatrical poster (or at least the theatrical poster shown here on imdb) contains some spoilers. It's rare to see a movie so devoted to burying its own surprise potential...
Still, it's an enjoyable way to spend a few hours, although I wouldn't recommend "A twist of sand" to people who suffer from a morbid fear of heights and/or a morbid fear of tiny enclosed spaces. If the scene with The Elevator From Hell doesn't scar them for life, then the scene with the centuries-old shipwreck will...
A question. What will happen if a handful of dangerous people who do not particularly like or trust each other become a team involved in an illegal enterprise ? And what if they're after a prize so great that it could tempt a Franciscan friar ? If your answer is : "I would not be surprised to see tension, in-fighting, treachery and homicide", then congratulations, you've just predicted 70 to 80% of the movie, including the ending. And no, it does not help that the movie indulges in so much foreshadowing.
Even the theatrical poster (or at least the theatrical poster shown here on imdb) contains some spoilers. It's rare to see a movie so devoted to burying its own surprise potential...
Still, it's an enjoyable way to spend a few hours, although I wouldn't recommend "A twist of sand" to people who suffer from a morbid fear of heights and/or a morbid fear of tiny enclosed spaces. If the scene with The Elevator From Hell doesn't scar them for life, then the scene with the centuries-old shipwreck will...