Year: 2010
Country: USA
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Sharks
Plot:
After a series of strange deaths in the area, a local fisherman learns that melting glaciers in the Arctic have released a prehistoric shark that proceeds to terrorize Mexico and must band his friends together to stop the creature.
Review:
This was quite possibly the best entry the Sci-Fi Channel has ever produced. Among the great qualities here is the fact that there's just a ton of action within this one which manages to make this incredibly fun. The opening attack in the Arctic after it's released is a lot of fun, the ambush in ton the rowboat comes off even better and the channel's staple of featuring short, brief creature attacks where it pops up out of nowhere to attack are featured here in quite enjoyable encounters. This one has fun ones as the first few surfer attacks on the beach, a massacre against country club members, and the snorkeler attack by the reef feature some rather enjoyable sequences where the creature is given some really exciting and thrilling attacks.
These all set the stage for the film's two big action scenes in the last half that are quite fun and gives this one its best features. There's the failed ambush that leads into the frantic chases through the later stages of the canal and on through the attacks on the water polo squad. From there, it leads into the finale where there's plenty of awesome attacks against a parasailer and jet skiers, attacks a tour-boat, and leads into the big containment finale which is really exciting, providing this one with a ton of action that really impressive here. That also gives off plenty of great kills with such a high body count, as well as the shocking ability here in that the CGI is admittedly good here for the creature and its appearance which is a bit shock. Another last strong factor here is the origin story of the creature, which comes off quite decently and never comes off too heavy-handed yet does seem quite logical and realistic for what it is, and furthers the beginning's first-half mystery angle about the strange attacks plaguing the country.
All these are more than enough to overcome the one rather noticeable flaw in here, which is the incessant shaking of the camera during the attack scenes which are wholly jarring and too distracting to make much of anything out of them. There's little need to keep doing it during the part of the movie you want to see the most, and it leaves a rather distracting presence due to that. Viewers should also expect to be inundated with all the usual trappings and exploits associated with the genre, from the utterly unrealistic CGI that falls trap to the usual flaws with an unnatural series of movements performed by an animal that's clearly not interacting with its environment and constantly changing dimensions depending on the scene it's in. Still, it's not nearly enough to overcome what else works here.
Overview: ****.5/5
One of the greatest examples of the channel's exploits around in that it pretty much features everything necessary to enjoy such content, this one is one of the forgotten gems from this period and has much to like about it. Fans and enthusiasts of such over-the-top cheese or of the SyFy Channel's previous exploits will be advised to seek this one out immediately while those that don't appreciate this kind of effort should heed caution somewhat.
Comments
Post a Comment