Bite-Sized Review: The Shallows (Movie)

Genre Thriller
Director Jaume Collet-Serra
Actors Blake Lively
Where we got our copy Ster Kinekor
Reviewed on Cinema (2D)
Available on Cinema (2D)
Air Date 2016-08-24

MJ Khan

Published August 19, 2016

Here’s why you should watch The Shallows in three paragraphs

Animal attack movies are usually terrible, but the ones that are enjoyable will stay with you for ages (Deep Blue Sea, Jaws, Anaconda etc). The Shallows starts off poorly with lots of gratuitous booty cam shots (making it feel like the eye-roll that is Piranha 3DD) but is quickly saved by a complete hero of a shark that steals every scene it is in. The CGI is solid and while there are a few scenes of agony and pain that tend to go on for a bit, it’s not the torture-porn that is The Revenant. Lively channels her inner Bear Grylls with aplomb.

You need to watch this in the cinema because it’s not a background flick that you can glance at while refreshing your social media feeds on your phone. You need to submerge yourself in it, otherwise the movie falls flat. Also, the thrills work better in a communal setting with strangers, like a darkened cinema.

Usually I would include the movie trailer in my review, but I’m intentionally not doing that as the trailer gives away a large chunk of the plot (almost as bad as the Spiderman 2 trailer). I went in blind and enjoyed it quite a bit – I urge you to give it a shot if you like shark movies, survival horror or if you rooted for Richard Parker in Life of Pi.

Here's why you should watch The Shallows in three paragraphs Animal attack movies are usually terrible, but the ones that are enjoyable will stay with you for ages (Deep Blue Sea, Jaws, Anaconda etc). The Shallows starts off poorly with lots of gratuitous booty cam shots (making it feel like the eye-roll that is Piranha 3DD) but is quickly saved by a complete hero of a shark that steals every scene it is in. The CGI is solid and while there are a few scenes of agony and pain that tend to go on for a bit, it's not the torture-porn that is The Revenant. Lively channels her inner Bear Grylls with aplomb. You need to watch this in the cinema because it's not a background flick that you can glance at while refreshing your social media feeds on your phone. You need to submerge yourself in it, otherwise the movie falls flat. Also, the thrills work better in a communal setting with strangers, like a darkened cinema. Usually I would include the movie trailer in my review, but I'm intentionally not doing that as the trailer gives away a large chunk of the plot (almost as bad as the Spiderman 2 trailer). I went in blind and enjoyed it quite a bit - I urge you to give it a shot if you like shark movies, survival horror or if you rooted for Richard Parker in Life of Pi. [taq_review]

Movie Review: Bite-Sized Review: The Shallows (Movie)

2016-08-19

MJ Khan

Infinitely better than any Sharknado movie

Total - 7.2

72 7.2

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MJ Khan

Gaming / Entertainment Author at Geek Node

A veteran gamer and award-winning strategist, MJ enjoys eating chocolate eclairs and watching WWE. He completed his Masters coursework on videogame theory and enjoys writing about representation in games.