Shark movies are not my thing, but I checked this out because I wanted to see what Halle Berry was up to. For a thriller shark movie, this was actually pretty well written and produced. The script uses several fairly sophisticated literary devices with an overall metaphor for the entire story. The cinematography was great. And not just the underwater shots but the whole movie was well shot. And those underwater scenes with the sharks were just spectacular. The only negative criticism I have regarding cinematography is that some of the the night scenes were too dark to see what was going on.
The dialogue was spot on -- very believable. And most of the characters were well developed with the exception of the lead, "Kate" (played by Berry). By the end of the movie we had a fully developed character, but by then the movie was over. It probably would have been better to put a little more into that character earlier on and show more evolution. But still, that's a minor criticism of an otherwise great script that included many other well-developed characters, some of whom evolve through the story themselves.
The pacing seemed erratic at times, sometimes too fast and sometimes too slow. Shark/disaster movie fans are probably more use to the typical formula pacing: slow in the beginning with tons of baby-food character development, followed by fast-paced action for most of the movie with a brief anticlimax at the end. But the unorthodox pacing of this film really didn't hurt the story that much. (Actually, this film might have benefited from a more extended anticlimax instead of, or in addition to the concluding voice-over -- but that's really just a judgment call.)
The film was equitable regarding race, with multiple supporting roles played by black actors and of course the lead by Berry. One of the black characters is killed off early in the film, limiting that player's screen time. The film includes an interracial relationship and some scenes showing affection between the couple, however, the relationship is somewhat disfunctional and there are also some very heated arguments. That relationship is the primary back story (or parallel story) in this film. Also included in the story is a subtle chemistry between two gay men in the film.
The acting in the film was world class. I don't remember a single lousy performance, even from the bit players. Very well done. And the well-written dialogue and tight editing also helped the performances. There wasn't much to the main plot (it's a shark story, after all), but there were several compelling side stories going on so that made the film more dimensional than a typical shark movie.
One cautionary note for shark movie fans -- if you're expecting some campy farce of a movie with a happy ending you may be disappointed. This is a character drama thriller. After Jaws (the grand-daddy of shark movies) which was a serious drama, came out in 1975, it's success brought about many parodies over the years and the original movie itself began to seem more comedic as it aged and society became more callous to violence, so today's viewers may be more likely to associate the genre with camp-horror than with a thriller drama.
This film also differs from Jaws in that it is much more respectful of the sharks. This is a reflection of the continuation of the natural progression from society's Teddy Roosevelt dominion-over-nature attitude to a more harmonious relationship with our fellow earthlings. (Even if they don't always reciprocate that courtesy :)
Overall, the film was well produced with an affective blend of thrills and poignancy. It had an inclusive cast without any racial derision. For that reason I'm giving it a rating of 8/10.
Advisory: graphic depictions of shark anthropophagy; textual content at >200 wpm
Rating: 8/10; (submitted August 15, 2020, 4:35 p.m. EDT)
The dialogue was spot on -- very believable. And most of the characters were well developed with the exception of the lead, "Kate" (played by Berry). By the end of the movie we had a fully developed character, but by then the movie was over. It probably would have been better to put a little more into that character earlier on and show more evolution. But still, that's a minor criticism of an otherwise great script that included many other well-developed characters, some of whom evolve through the story themselves.
The pacing seemed erratic at times, sometimes too fast and sometimes too slow. Shark/disaster movie fans are probably more use to the typical formula pacing: slow in the beginning with tons of baby-food character development, followed by fast-paced action for most of the movie with a brief anticlimax at the end. But the unorthodox pacing of this film really didn't hurt the story that much. (Actually, this film might have benefited from a more extended anticlimax instead of, or in addition to the concluding voice-over -- but that's really just a judgment call.)
The film was equitable regarding race, with multiple supporting roles played by black actors and of course the lead by Berry. One of the black characters is killed off early in the film, limiting that player's screen time. The film includes an interracial relationship and some scenes showing affection between the couple, however, the relationship is somewhat disfunctional and there are also some very heated arguments. That relationship is the primary back story (or parallel story) in this film. Also included in the story is a subtle chemistry between two gay men in the film.
The acting in the film was world class. I don't remember a single lousy performance, even from the bit players. Very well done. And the well-written dialogue and tight editing also helped the performances. There wasn't much to the main plot (it's a shark story, after all), but there were several compelling side stories going on so that made the film more dimensional than a typical shark movie.
One cautionary note for shark movie fans -- if you're expecting some campy farce of a movie with a happy ending you may be disappointed. This is a character drama thriller. After Jaws (the grand-daddy of shark movies) which was a serious drama, came out in 1975, it's success brought about many parodies over the years and the original movie itself began to seem more comedic as it aged and society became more callous to violence, so today's viewers may be more likely to associate the genre with camp-horror than with a thriller drama.
This film also differs from Jaws in that it is much more respectful of the sharks. This is a reflection of the continuation of the natural progression from society's Teddy Roosevelt dominion-over-nature attitude to a more harmonious relationship with our fellow earthlings. (Even if they don't always reciprocate that courtesy :)
Overall, the film was well produced with an affective blend of thrills and poignancy. It had an inclusive cast without any racial derision. For that reason I'm giving it a rating of 8/10.
Advisory: graphic depictions of shark anthropophagy; textual content at >200 wpm
Rating: 8/10; (submitted August 15, 2020, 4:35 p.m. EDT)
