Director: Jose Montesinos
Year: 2018
Country: USA
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Sharks
Plot:
Attempting to do some illegal filmmaking, a daredevil reality-TV crew ends up stranded in the middle of the ocean after a plane-crash and slowly picked off one-by-one by a group of ravenous great white sharks forcing the last survivors to use their ingenuity to escape their fate alive.
Review:
This was a truly phenomenal and enjoyable SyFy Channel effort. One of the rather enjoyable features here is the fact that this one gives off a highly enjoyable realistic-based setup for the fun to come. The focus of the film towards getting the setting realistic with the group staying alive in the middle of the ocean with the sharks continually circling around the few survivors which manages to really offer a special brand of action to the film as that becomes a lot more realistic the longer it goes on. From the initial shock of the crash and how the creatures appear on the outskirts of the group picking everyone off while they're unaware due to dealing with getting the situation under control, once they're discovered the film turns into a series of thrilling attacks with the creatures popping up while in the middle of their attempts to get to safety. The suspense this causes as the sharks continually pick off the group and slowly leave her with less and less chances for help while also causing the attempts at action to come off nicely, including the ambush down in the plane or the attack while trying to get her friend onto the boat which highlights the action featured in the finale.
The cast here is phenomenal for this type of effort. Lead Aubrey Reynolds as the sister Lindsey serves as a truly emotional and engaging protagonist as she slowly but surely succumbs to the elements around her and tries to utilize her sisters' influences and memories to push herself to survive as long as she does. This is a stellar turn here and she carries it extraordinarily well, going from the somewhat timid younger sister to a fully-fledged, strong-willed individual who puts herself in extreme situations to try to survive and makes for a fantastic performance. Gina Vitori as her sister Paige is a nice lead as well, with the two bonding effectively and making for a truly believable family as they try to survive the situation together. Despite the best efforts she gives when they try to turn the tables on us with their late-in-the-game turn, they still offer up a believable family unit and it becomes quite emotional with the two as their fates are fully played out. Along with the more realistic-looking sharks here courtesy of some rather ingenious use of real-life sharks at the right moment, these hold it up over it's few minor flaws.
The biggest flaw to the film is the fact that this one tends to focus quite often on cliches which put this one into motion. The setup for the crash is dependent on the group getting into a rickety old plane that's falling apart just before take-off and then expectedly causing the crash to get them stranded so it's not a surprise when it occurs and drastically reduces a lot of the tension surrounding that section of the film. As well, the confusing nature of the film's setup where it continually flashes back in time to before the whole crash happens which focuses on the drama of the group in the name of being bigger stars which is not only incredibly irritating to watch but really stifles the amount of time the sharks are on-screen. Given that this one rightfully makes them centerstage, there's plenty of time eaten up here that doesn't offer much by focusing on those scenes when it really could've featured a more traditional timeline instead of jumping around. Coupled with the at-times silly CGI for the creatures which looks off due to the use of realistic great whites throughout the rest of the film, these here hold it back somewhat.
Overview: ****/5
Despite a lot of rather enjoyable and engaging elements present here, this one still has a few minor issues which do hold it back just enough from being one of the finest upper echelon titles in the scene. Give this a chance if you're annoyed at the continual cheesy low-budget genre fare or are looking for a fun, gripping effort while those looking for more of a cheesy good time should heed caution.
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