(2016)*** 1/2
Nancy, a med student (convenient), takes some time after the death of her mother to find the remote (but not so remote that there isn't perfect cell phone coverage) Mexican beach where her mother used to go. She surfs, has fun, but is bitten by a shark and subsequently stranded on a rock that will soon be swallowed up by the tide, while the shark continues to circle her.
Given that JPX just eloquently listed the shark movie cliches, I'm happy to point out that this movie is devoid of all of them:
Town authority figure? nope
Vacation weekend? nope
Chief Brody? nope
Finding an arm? nope
Never really showing the shark? nope - that thing appears before the credits even roll
So, the movie deserves some credit for that. The Shallows takes the shark genre and turns it more into a survivor in peril kind of dilemma. Like that move where they're stuck on the ski lift for days.
Blake Lively is very good. Contrary to what I expected, the movie doesn't just exploit her in a bikini for 80 minutes. The scenery is beautiful, and the CGI shark is scary.
Unfortunately, the tension never ratchets up too high. The character is smart, progresses, and I never got the feeling that she was in danger or suffering that much. There are also a lot of random things that really require the suspension of disbelief, and (I won't spoil it) the ending is so weak that it ranks up there with Jaws 4 in terms of, "Really, that's how they're gonna do it?!?"
Sorry, that last part probably only makes sense if you remember Jaws 4, which hopefully, none of you do.
6 comments:
I completely agree with your review. In fact, I recall saying (to know one), "The trailer gives away the entire movie!" and it does. It's entertaining enough but in the end it's a very "small" film.
Welcome to the party, Trevor!
What a nice surprise, a shark movie that's not a Jaws ripoff! Good one, Trevor!
Hello Trevor nice entry, loved the anti shark movie checklist.
I was intrigued by the preview for this one. Sounds like it delivered adequately enough to check out!
I was also interested in this and may add it to my, up to this point non-existent, list!
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