Last Breath Won’t Leave You Breathless but Tells a Good Story

Last Breath

★ ★ ★

Last Breath is based on a true story of divers who descended 300 feet below the surface of the North Sea on Sept. 19, 2012, to replace old piping on an oil rig. When a fierce storm strikes, the support ship – to which the dive vessel is tethered – loses the automatic controls that keep it positioned over the rig manifold. One diver’s life-support tether snags as he tries to return, and after the cord snaps, he’s left to navigate back to the manifold in hopes of rescue.

His oxygen quickly runs out and he’s left underwater for nearly 30 minutes.

The diver’s name is Chris Lemmons (Finn Cole), and the movie opens as he tells his fiancé Morag (Bobby Rainsbury) that he’s been selected to join the oil rig crew. He’s to be gone for several weeks. To keep her mind off his dangerous situation, she’ll be planning their wedding while he’s away.

Finn Cole, Woody Harrelson and Simu Liu
© 2025 Focus Features

Chris joins the ship where he meets up with Duncan Allock (Woody Harrelson), his mentor. There are three crews of three divers. Each group must go into decompression chambers for several days to prepare for the depths they’ll be descending. Rounding out Duncan’s crew is Dave Yuasa (Simu Liu).

The dynamic between these three divers plays well on screen, Duncan is facing retirement and genuinely loves his diving career. Chris is the youngest on the crew. He’s eager to advance, is well trained and understands the dangers of the job. Dave is a veteran and is much more serious. He just wants to do his job and return home to his family.

When disaster strikes, and Chris is lost on the rig manifold, Duncan and Dave do everything in their power to save him.

Meanwhile, the ship above is trying to regain control of the engines and reposition itself above the rig, while guiding Dave to Chris’ location. Captain Andre Jenson (Cliff Curtis), first officer Hanna (MyAnna Buring), DPO (Josef Altin) and Dive Supervisor Craig (Mark Bonnar) work with swift professionalism. Above and below, the crews work together to bring Chris back to the ship, even though it becomes more likely that this is a body recovery instead of a rescue.

Simu Liu as Dave Yuasa
© 2025 Focus Features

It’s a harrowing story, but it’s told in a very straightforward way. There is a slight emotional disconnect that seems to happen the further Chris is left without oxygen. The breath is taken out of the story a bit, though it mostly recovers by its conclusion.

It’s an entertaining movie even though it lacks some important tension, likely due to the matter-of-fact storytelling. You might not be gasping for air by the time the credits roll, but you’ll likely enjoy the ride.