Review – The Shallows

If Jaws (1975), 127 Hours (2010), and Sharknado (2013) had a messy threesome, the end result would be The Shallows.  This is a relentless, roller-coaster ride in the ocean that starts off very interesting and suspenseful but takes a wild left turn into absurdity and unintentional hilarity.

Blake Lively stars as Nancy, a surfer who is attacked by a great white shark while ripping a wave.  She saves her self by swimming onto a rock 200 yards away from shore.  Nancy must use her resourcefulness and ingenuity to save herself from the circling shark.

I always commend actors who act on-screen by themselves majority of the movie.  It takes a certain charisma to carry a movie by yourself.  We’ve seen it from Tom Hanks in Cast Away (2000), Will Smith in I Am Legend (2007) and most recently from Matt Damon in The Martian (2015).  Blake Lively isn’t near the acting caliber of the three I just named, but she does a damn good job carrying this movie.  I will admit, a couple of her lines didn’t land very well, but she really brings it, in the most impressive performance of her career thus far.  It didn’t help that Nancy was poorly developed, which made the character relatively flat.  But, Lively was able to make this character compelling, and for that, she deserves a kudos.

The biggest problem with The Shallows is its uneven tone.  The first two acts of the film was some of the most intense cinema I’ve seen all year, as Nancy tries to be as resourceful as she can while being stranded on this rock.  It’s very claustrophobic watching her on this small rock.  Mix the claustrophobic anxiety with the fear of the shark popping out at any moment, and you have some really heart racing cinema.  There are some pretty brutal moments as well, like when Nancy tries to stop the bleeding of her leg by using her earrings, and when the shark continues to kill unsuspecting surfers who try and help Nancy.  These are tough, but fun scenes to watch.  The best part about the first twos acts was the lack of shark.  Similar to Jaws, we don’t get to see shark very often.  It will show up randomly, or we will see a fin circling around the rock.  This really adds to the suspense, as you never know where the shark is or when it will pop up.

The third act of the film, however, flies off the rails and crash lands right into ridiculousness.  This is when we really get to see the shark and it’s pretty rough.  The CGI in Sharknado was better, that’s how awful it looks.  It’s mildly hilarious.  And the epic climax at the end happened too quickly and did not pay off in the way it should have.

I had a good time with The Shallows, even if the last third fell apart.  Blake Lively is impressive, the suspense never stops, and the anxiety lingers the whole movie.  If you’re looking for a fun, summer thrill-ride, check out The Shallows.

MY RATING – 2.5/4

Did you see The Shallows?  What did you think?  Comment below or hit me up on Twitter @kevflix or on Facebook at Kevflix.