The Shallows - movie review

The Shallows

Plot: A mere 200 yards from shore, surfer Nancy is attacked by a great white shark, with her short journey to safety becoming the ultimate contest of wills.
Cast: Blake Lively, Óscar Jaenada, Brett Cullen
Director: Jaume Collet-Serra
Rating: 15 (sustained threat, bloody injury detail)
Runtime: 1hr 26 mins
Release Date: Friday 12th August 2016

I hate sharks. I mean, I don't endorse the hunting and killing of them but let's just say I don't really want anything to do with them. Whether it be Jaws, Shark Week even Bruce in Finding Nemo, they make me tense and anxious. Sharks aren't at the level of clowns because I will literally knock someone out if they run towards me dressed as a clown (can't wait for the It reboot). So with a dislike for sharks already being noted, I don't know why I put myself through this. The answer? It turns out that The Shallows is actually one of my favourite movies this summer.


Apart from the shark and Steven Seagull (Yes, a seagull named after Steven Segal), this is completely a one woman show starring Blake Lively. The Shallows is a small contained thriller about one woman's survival and that's all there is to it. Maybe it's because of her marriage to Ryan Reynolds but this has some similarities to his claustrophobic thriller, Buried. However, before watching Buried, I was confident that Reynolds can pull this off for an hour and a half but with Lively, I hadn't seen proof that she can do this sort of thing. Most know her from Gossip Girl fame and she was ok in Age Of Adaline but she blew me away in The Shallows. This film was so much better than it needed to be and than it should have been and most of that is due to a thunderous performance by Blake Lively. I liked her character when we meet her because she was this sweet and fun loving girl who just wanted to ride waves. She felt real and not some clichéd girl who's surfing for a spiritual discovery. Plus, she spends most of the film in either a bikini or a skin tight wetsuit so even if her acting wasn't up to par, every cloud... (Ryan Reynolds is one lucky man). In the events leading up to when the shark attacks, you get to know Lively's character more meaning that you give a shit when it all goes wrong. Once that shark has given Lively a taste of what he can do, she still continues to impress whether it be her acting in excruciating pain or figuring out a way to live. There are a couple of instances where her screaming and heavy breathing does get a little on the nose and annoying but that's more to do with stylistic choices by the director rather than Lively individually. There are probably like three or four other cast members that appear but they have almost ten lines between them so they were serviceable but nothing special.

Like I said, Lively is nothing short of incredible in her film but it would be worthless if the movie she was in was bad. Thankfully, The Shallows turns out to be a massive surprise for me as it's awesome. Sure, it's not going to claim awards for creativity or ingenious storytelling but what it does well is create suspense and take its audience on a ride. The director, Jaume Collet-Serra, has made quite a few films like this (Unknown, Non-Stop, Run All Night) but here, I think he's found something he's great at; delivering what should be a silly B-Movie as a serious and grounded thriller. If you mention sharks in film to anyone now, it's tainted because of movies like Sharknado, Sharktopus and Shark Exorcist. Yes, you read that correctly. There is a film in which a Great White Shark becomes possessed by The Devil. I actually have no words. Going back to The Shallows, I was a little unsure of how it would play out because when Nancy (Lively) begins surfing, the club tunes and frantic editing make it seem like an MTV music video with ADHD but then everything stops. The quiet scenes just before the shark pounces are some of the tensest moments in film of this year. The last time I remember being this tense and uncomfortable, I had just eaten a dodgy vindaloo. But the way Collet-Serra was able to maintain this heightened tension throughout and keep me white-knuckling my seat the entire time is nothing short of amazing. The film keeps moving and Nancy is given enough problems to stop The Shallows from being monotonous. Does it become a bit implausible near the end? Yes, but I think it's earned a bit of fun after being so gripping before the third act. The shark also looked fantastic. The CGI was a little noticeable at times but I can't not find a shark leaping out of the water whilst on fire pretty sweet.

Compared to other shark movies recently, The Shallows is the best shark film we've had in quite a long time, dare I say Jaws? Blake Lively owns this film and it really joins the ranks of contained thrillers like Buried and Gravity. Perhaps the director could have toned down the use of slow motion but these are nitpicks in an otherwise nerve-racking movie. Still hate sharks though.

My Verdict: 9/10

What did you think of The Shallows? What is your favourite shark movie? Post your comments below.

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