Not Without Hope

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Not Without Hope

R

2025

1h 59m

Mystery & Thriller

Drama

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Popcornmeter

75%

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12 Reviews

66%

Popcornmeter

100+ Ratings

Not Without Hope tells the harrowing true story of a tragic 2009 fishing trip taken by four friends -- Nick Schuyler (Zachary Levi) and Will Bleakley (Marshall Cook), former University of South Florida football teammates, and NFL players Marquis Cooper (Quentin Plair) and Corey Smith (Terrence Terrell) -- who are stranded at sea 70 miles off the coast of Clearwater, Florida after their boat capsizes. With the storm of the century fast approaching, the four friends are left to battle hypothermia, dehydration and the unrelenting elements in a fight for survival. As anxious families hold out hope for a miracle, U.S. Coast Guard Captain Timothy Close (Josh Duhamel) marshals every asset at his disposal to find the four men, resulting in the dramatic rescue of Schuyler 43 hours later.

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Christy Lemire

FilmWeek (LAist)

Dec 31

Not enough for the faith-based audience, but too much for the secular audience.

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William Bibbiani

TheWrap

Dec 13

'Not Without Hope' never completely comes together but when it works, it’s absorbing disaster filmmaking.

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Richard Roeper

RogerEbert.com

Dec 12

3/4

'Not Without Hope' is a respectful and impactful dramatic interpretation that feels true to the real-life events.

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Casey Chong

Casey's Movie Mania

5d

3/5

Joe Carnahan's otherwise clunky stranded-at-sea survival thriller boasts immersive cinematic experience.

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Mark Jackson

Epoch Times

Dec 24

3/5

"Not Without Hope" is a respectful interpretation of real-life survival. Not for entertainment, it's a good parental opportunity to teach life lessons to teens.

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Cole Groth

FandomWire

Dec 18

8/10

It’s an honorable story to portray, and when the camera stays on the boat, it’s a very well-done tribute to the resilience of the human spirit.

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Dec 21

Beautiful message and f HOPE even in the toughest most challenging situations.

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Dec 18

The movie only partly followed the book and had numerous historical errors. Among them is the first big boat looking for them, which was a Coast Guard Cutter, and no Coast Guard boats are Navy grey. They are either white-hulled or black-hulled (aids to navigation). There are no gray helicopters in the fleet. They are all painted red and white, just like the one at the end of the story. Also, no helicopter flies 50 feet off the water in storm conditions on a SAR mission where they are looking for something in the water. And, no helicopter flies close to the fixed-wing aircraft in a search area. Each is given a sector to search independently. In the end, it showed some historical footage that was accurate, but, as usual, moviemakers take license to make things up or portray events differently than they occurred in real life. I thought they would build on the relationships at the beginning, but they did not develop the friendship that existed among the four of them before the trip. The acting was OK, but it will not win any awards. I teach risk management for the Coast Guard, and this is one of the case studies I use in my classes. It illustrates the 15 things they could have done, but didn't, before they set out that morning. Any of the holes in the Swiss cheese that don't line up by making a different decision would have made this into a non-event, and all 4 of them would have come home to their families that day.

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Dec 17

Hanging out with the boys on a fishing trip is a great vibe before disaster strikes. Love seeing shots of Gulf coast Florida. Also the lessons on weather and ocean hypothermia were the best.

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Dec 17

Incredible movie. Filming on open water amazing! Very sad story

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Dec 17

directors decisions were not my favorite

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Dec 17

Lots of action for this true story. Emotional. No glitz. Highly recommend.

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Joe Carnahan

Director

Zachary Levi

Nick Schuyler

Josh Duhamel

Timothy Close

Quentin Plair

Marquis Cooper

Terrence Terrell

Corey Smith

Marshall Cook

Will Bleakley

Not Without Hope: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

Not Without Hope tells the harrowing true story of a tragic 2009 fishing trip taken by four friends -- Nick Schuyler (Zachary Levi) and Will Bleakley (Marshall Cook), former University of South Florida football teammates, and NFL players Marquis Cooper (Quentin Plair) and Corey Smith (Terrence Terrell) -- who are stranded at sea 70 miles off the coast of Clearwater, Florida after their boat capsizes. With the storm of the century fast approaching, the four friends are left to battle hypothermia, dehydration and the unrelenting elements in a fight for survival. As anxious families hold out hope for a miracle, U.S. Coast Guard Captain Timothy Close (Josh Duhamel) marshals every asset at his disposal to find the four men, resulting in the dramatic rescue of Schuyler 43 hours later.

Director: Joe Carnahan
Producer: Adam Beasley, Michael Jefferson, Rick French, Joe Carnahan, Alla Belaya, Cindy Bru, Robert A. Daly Jr., Vadim Fortunin, David Lipper, Jean Pierre Magro, Massimiliano Musina
Screenwriter: E. Nicholas Mariani, Joe Carnahan
Distributor: Inaugural Entertainment
Production Co: Volition Media Partners, K. JAM Media, Altit Media Group
Rating: R (Language Throughout)
Genre: Mystery & Thriller, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 12, 2025, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 6, 2026
Runtime: 1h 59m

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