Critics from outlets like the Salt Lake Tribune note that the film successfully looks past the tragic headlines to show the man behind the event. However, some reviewers find the narrative's structure—which heavily features flashbacks to Jones's courtship with his wife—to be slow-paced and sentimental to a fault.
“This movie is quite realistic showing what John went through during those 27 hours that he was stuck in the cave, including his hallucinations and conversations that he had with the rescuers and his wife.” Fandango The Last Descent (2016)
The cave scenes are widely cited as being effectively claustrophobic and tense. Viewer Sentiment Critics from outlets like the Salt Lake Tribune