The Shallows (2016)

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warrensm
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The Shallows (2016)

Post by warrensm »

Brilliant shark movies are rare to come across nowadays. The first Jaws set the bar for this sub-genre (and perhaps the summer blockbuster, for that matter), but you can say that its legacy was somewhat tarnished by the sequels, especially the last two. Infamous schlock films like Shark Attack 3: Megalodon and Mega Shark vs Giant Octopus proven to be insultingly terrible. And even though contemporary movies like Sharknado and Deep Blue Sea are too unintentionally hilarious for us to hate, you have to admit that the shark movie sub-genre is ripe for a good representation during these times. Enter The Shallows, which was directed by Jaume Collet-Serra. In this film, Nancy (Blake Lively) goes on a surfing vacation to an island that is secluded, but has a significant memory tied to her late mother. As she catches a late wave, she gets attacked by a shark and left stranded on a rock in the middle of the ocean. Nancy has to use only her smarts and skills to find a way back to shore. The Shallows isn't just an excuse to show off lead actress Blake Lively in a bikini. It's a female-centered version of All Is Lost, the 2013 solo sea-survival movie featuring Robert Redford. While Blake Lively isn't the lone acting talent in the movie, she uses the solo time she has to command the screen with a passionate, intelligent performance, along with a small amount of help from a seagull called Steven Seagull (think of it as her own version of Cast Away's Wilson). In a role where she finally gets to shine, Blake gets to kick the ocean's butt and look pretty good doing it. It also helps that the film itself looks pretty good as well. The cinematography's vividly and colorfully alive, the digital effects puts the electronic devices to good use, displaying the surface screens of the cell phone apps and the stopwatch as pop-up projections, the action scenes come packed with intensity, and the script keeps a short, yet simple story going without any drifting. At a running time of 86 minutes, The Shallows is slim, trim, and to the point, resulting in possibly the best shark movie in over 40 years.

Score: 84/100

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