Adrift - Movie Reviews (2024)

Baltasar Kormákur’s latest is gripping—often heart-wrenching—as a survival drama, but works as effectively as a sweeping romance, thanks to its two exceptionally talented leading actors.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Jul 9, 2024

This is nowhere near the level of other great survival stories, but there are enough effective occasions to see the potential this film could have achieved.

Full Review | Original Score: 6/10 | May 29, 2022

Adrift somehow survives the late reveal, and the awkward structure, to remain an alluring meditation on the kind of love that carries water.

Full Review | Feb 11, 2022

For almost the entire runtime, the only people onscreen are Woodley and Clafin, with Woodley doing most of the talking and action. Unfortunately, she isn't up to the task.

Full Review | Original Score: C+ | Aug 21, 2021

Shailene Woodley shows no fear diving on and off a boat in rugged seas; like the rest of the crew she battled open-water threats including seasickness and sunburn to create believable intensity of a real experience...

Full Review | Aug 11, 2021

What is meant to be a voyage of self-discovery is actually little more than a trip to the Young Adult section of the library.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Feb 28, 2021

Ultimately, Adrift was a nice enough way to pass two hours, it never left us completely bored and it was easy popcorn fodder.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Jan 26, 2021

I didn't expect much going in Adrift. Maybe an escapist thriller with a decent lead performance. I ended up getting a lot out of it.

Full Review | Nov 10, 2020

Woodley is an absolute blast to watch in the film's most adventurous scenes.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4.0 | Sep 1, 2020

The longer we're at sea, we the audience begin to drift, craving the danger of "Open Water" or the imagination of "Life of Pi."

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4 | Aug 29, 2020

A one-woman crewed voyage of grit and determination, one that frequently gets lost in its convoluted storyline.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Aug 19, 2020

There are two stories playing out almost simultaneously -- each independently intriguing, but seemingly completely separate from each other.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Aug 14, 2020

Director Baltasar Kormákur . . . exacerbates manners by approaching the film with the same pace throughout, making sequences indiscernible from each other in rhythm and beats.

Full Review | Original Score: 1.5/5 | Jul 24, 2020

If you're feeling adventurous and looking for another kind of superhero in a crowded field, this might be for you.

Full Review | Jun 15, 2020

A movie with the structure of Adrift has to live and die by the quality/believability of both its action and setting, and right off the bat it's clear that both will be handled well.

Full Review | Mar 20, 2020

A film just as much about the freewheeling Kerouac-ian liberation of travel as a romance. The predictable plot machinations are hardly a detriment.

Full Review | Feb 13, 2020

Adrift is a solid, midrange picture of the type that is increasingly rare. It's star-driven, suspenseful, and just plain gorgeous to look at.

Full Review | Jan 17, 2020

Unfortunately, the film's survival aspect is not as compelling as other films of the same nature.

Full Review | Jan 4, 2020

The production could have fallen into the trap of being another run-of-the-mill feature about a love story... But, Icelandic director Baltasar Kormákur shook things up a bit with more of an indie art-house style.

Full Review | Oct 29, 2019

[Shailene Woodley] gives an intrepid performance in a physically demanding role that places her onscreen the entire 1 hour and 36-minute runtime.

Full Review | Oct 17, 2019