Tag Archives: shark movies

Movie Review: 47 Meters Down: Uncaged

01 Friday Nov 2019

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Just when you thought that you couldn’t sink any deeper, Johannes Roberts delves into a sequel to the mediocre 47 Meters Down, only this time, it’s uncaged.
Taking the same concept of an underwater dive into unchartered waters only to come face to face with nature’s deadliest underwater predator.

Director Johannes Roberts, who oversaw the first movie knows his element and develops a fun, and thrilling ride that puts our characters to the nth degree in order to survive their ordeal. Let’s face it though. This is not going to rock any brain cells. I’d say that it’s a pretty watered down affair, but then that would be stating the obvious seeing as we spend most of the time submerged. 

Peppered with some offsprings from A-List celebs looking for their big break with Corrine Foxx and Sistine Stallone, to add some bite to the cast, but it’s a pretty big pond, and the impact that they have on screen will hardly turn heads… well not in the way they may have hoped… ahem.

Okay, where was I? Ah yes, the plot. So we once again have two sisters, only this time it’s through a mixed blended family. One girl is awkward and a bit of a loner, Mia (Sophie Nelisse), the other, is confident and strong-headed Sasha (Foxx). Needless to say, Sasha finds Mia an embarrassment and tends to steer clear of her, but when given the opportunity to duck out of pre-arranged tourist underwater trip, she grabs Mia along with her friends Alexa (Brianne Tju) and Nicole (Stallone) to have an underwater adventure of their own.

Roberts sets the scene early on by laying the foundations about Mia and Sasha’s father (John Corbett) who happens to be an underwater archaeologist that has discovered an ancient city buried within a cave system and that a shark has somehow found its way down there and gotten stuck. Cue one hangry shark. This allows more time for action and to lengthen the nightmare for the four girls.

Having said that, most of the action gets lost in the murky depths and as such, becomes a little hard to follow. Our connection with the girls is slim and we don’t really care what happens to them by the end.

Equally Roberts is guilty of typical killer shark movie tropes, in particular one scene that feels remarkably similar to THAT moment in Deep Blue Sea. 

Prognosis:

There are some twists and turns along the way and Director Johannes Roberts continues to entertain but fails to stimulate beyond the usual shark fodder that is already out there.

A fun watch, but not a lot else.

  • Saul Muerte

Movie review: The Meg

22 Wednesday Aug 2018

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“All shark and no bite”

They promised you big, and big we got, but probably not necessarily what the producers were hoping for.

The BIG question lies in two classification rating. Whilst they strive to appease a wider market with an M rating, those hungry for some blood, guts, and full-on gore will be sorely disappointed. The Meg shark never really scares or shocks the audience and on more than one occasion appears happy to just swim around waiting for the humans to plan time-consuming methods to either tag or destroy the beast.

The movie does spend a hell of a long time building up some backstory to the main protagonists so that the audience will hopefully give a damn about their outcome but a lot of the time leans towards a predictable conclusion.

The main criticism is primarily focused on Jonas’ (Jason Statham) plight. The film set up shows Jonas needing to make a critical decision during a deep sea rescue, which ultimately leaves two of his comrades to die. The issue I found is that we aren’t really ever introduced to these two characters or their relationship with Jonas for this blow to have any devastating impact. This ain’t no Maverick / Goose moment.
Instead we rely on Statham’s angst at this supposed ordeal as he grimaces and tries to pull his best pensive expression.
The result leaves Jonas all washed up and resorting to drink.
So, when an experimental science expedition uncovers an unexplored underwater terrain, which inadvertently sets The Meg free, who should be could back into action to rescue those trapped in perilous depths? None other than our friend Jonas.

There’s some weak plots thrown into the midst, with Jonas’ ex being one of the survivors in need of rescue, but there’s enough of a twist to push the love interest in a different direction before falling prey to a predictable path.
To the writers’ credit though, there is enough interest in the characters to keep you interested… just. And the cast is solid enough to ground some of those characters.

Ultimately though, this is a Statham movie, so it’s not going to ground-breaking but it is going to be entertaining.

The Diagnosis:
Naturally some people will want to compare this movie to Jaws, the Titan of shark movies, but as big as you will make the shark, the result will always fall under the giant shadow that Spielberg’s classic still holds. And no blatant rip-off beach sequence is going to elevate anyone’s belief in that stat, although I did love the inflatable water walking balloon and Pippin the dog for comic value.
Not Statham’s finest hour but worth the plunge all the same.

  • Saul Muerte

Movie review: Deep Blue Sea 2

29 Sunday Apr 2018

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Every 90s kid knew the cornerstone of a great sleepover party was a block of chocolate and a scary, but still safely M-rated horror flick.
Hot on Video Ezy’s list of most borrowed were such classics as The Mummy, and The Haunting. But none were as revered, nor as feared, as the iconic Deep Blue Sea.

Naturally, I plunged into the sequel from director Darin Scott eager for some nostalgic terror feels. And I really wish I hadn’t.

Plot is as follows; a pharmaceutical company billionaire with a God complex uses bull sharks to test intelligence enhancing drugs in order to prepare humans for the day robots take over the world.
Cue something going horribly wrong, laboratory flooding, and scientists spending the duration of the film madly paddling away from aforementioned sharks.

Essentially, its the same story as the original, just lamer.

The only drastic change was the addition of a new monster.
Oh, to have been a fly on the wall when the writers brainstormed creatures more terrifying than genetically modified killer-sharks.
Their answer; the spawn of genetically modified killer-sharks. Cause nothing sends fear into the hearts of man like a whirlpool of baby sharks.

Weird directorial decisions are as follows; the use of primary-coloured light filters in the flooded hallways so that the audience can tell the difference between the hallways.
A laughably unnecessary scene consisting entirely of the buxom female protagonist undressing.
Cutting to the eyeball of a floating shark peering through a window, casually eavesdropping on the mean conversation happening inside. But now I’m just ruining it.

The Diagnosis:

Look, if you’re a fan of poorly made, straight-to-dvd horror flicks, then you may want to sink your teeth into this one for a bit of a laugh. Just don’t go looking for the huddling-under-the-sleeping bag kind of chills from your childhood. These were eaten by ravenous baby sharks.

– Ellin Williams

Movie review: 47 Meters Down

11 Monday Dec 2017

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Or a more accurate description would be ‘Just barely brimming above the surface’, as this movie never really dives any new depths in Shark horror films.

It would appear that this is a tough task to take on, as many souls have ventured into the big blue to tackle one of humankind’s greatest predators. However, since Spielberg’s classic Jaws invented the term ‘blockbuster’ back in 1975, those pretenders have been left drifting with no sense of direction at all.

While director Johannes Roberts (F, The Other Side of the Door) does his best to weave through the tension surrounding two sisters who attempt a cage dive for the first time, only to plummet to the ocean floor.

As there oxygen runs low, they must brave the shark infested water in order to survive.
Australian Claire Holt cuts a fine performance as the fearless Kate and one can see her career escalating beyond The Vampire Diaries from which she became a household name.

Where as Mandy Moore’s Lisa grates, and as twee as she may appear to be, by the end of the movie you’re wishing that she would become shark bait so that we don’t have to endure her shrill voice in every panic-driven scene.

On a lighter note, it was refreshing to see Matthew Modine back despite little screen time.

His role as the boats captain has a subtlety to it that only an actor of his expertise can pull off whilst still being believe able. His presence is a welcome relief during the scenes when the girls are submerged, albeit in the occasionally voice across the comms system.

The diagnosis:
With the promise of a sequel in the works titled 48 Meters Down, it must be doing something right, and whilst it is watchable, this hardly blows you out of the water.
Best advice would be to get tanked and watch with some mates.
At least then you can rely on the good company.

 

  • Saul Muerte