The Shallows

This review may contain spoilers!

The acting is pretty good and the story holds it's own but the technical team behind this film deserve so much credit. I would give The Shallows a 6.5/10.

Once you get past some of the more ridiculous aspects of this film you're left with a shark film that, while stereotypical, is an extremely entertaining feature. This film relies on it's main character, who is charming and quite relatable, and the extreme tension the plot generates as the threat of the shark becomes greater and greater. The cinematography is probably the best aspect of this film, there are some truly stunning shots that really capture the amazing setting. The colouring of this film heightens the aesthetic quality, and the CGI dolphins and shark have been really well constructed too. The score really helps set the whole tone, it's a powerful music compilation which serves the film extremely well.

Oscar Jaenada, who played Carlos, was a really great character to help introduce the context of the film; he had a very comfortable and laidback chemistry with Lively. Angelo Lozano Corzo and Jose Manuel Trujillo Salas, who played Surfer 1 and 2 respectively. were a pair of rather fun minor roles; it was interesting to get these rather comical and good-natured exchanges before the shark attack.

However the best performance came from Blake Lively, who played Nancy. I appreciated the nostalgic joy we saw associated with Lively's character when it came to her deceased Mum, the portrayal of grief in this film is much more unique than normal. Lively also presented the medical knowledge her role had in a way that wasn't over the top and which actually enhanced the intensity of the situation. Frankly I thought the character of Nancy was a fun, fierce role with a quality actress portraying her.

Unfortunately because this is a shark film it's bogged with stereotypes and moments that feel a bit too ridiculous; the moment when Nancy sets the shark on fire and when the shark dies are both good examples of these. There is also points where the film tries to take itself a bit too seriously, you don't really care about Nancy's life back home and it isn't very well presented in this film.

Brett Cullen, who played Dad, was one of the worst performances of the film; Cullen gives a very grating performance and you feel like he really isn't putting the effort in. Sedona Legge, who played Chloe, doesn't really connect with Lively as well as she should; it's a necessary role to some degree but one that isn't performed all that well. Diego Espejel, who played Intoxicated Man, is a rather dumb bumbling role in this film; he's certainly added to extend the run time but he feels a bit too much like a cartoon character.