It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a decent shark thriller and I wasn’t sure if The Shallows was going to be the film I’ve been wanting to see for so long, but actually I was pleasantly surprised. The Shallows is a decent shark thriller and survival story. The film stars Blake Lively who is actually the central character throughout the whole film and the one we watch try to survive the Shark attack. But is this film worth watching this weekend?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtxMROCNaHY
I would say it worth watching. If you’re out this weekend and you’re looking for a thriller and you love these types of film then it’s certainly worth going to go and see. The film comes directed by Jaume Collet-Serra who some may know as the director of Unknown (2011) and Non-Stop (2014) which were both quite good Liam Neeson films.
Jaume Collet-Serra did well here with the thriller aspect. With the film focusing mainly around only one actress/character and the sea and a shark and a couple of other random characters, it could have easily gotten boring quickly, but it just doesn’t get boring. There are constant problems and complications that keep coming up at sea to keep the audience interested in what’s going on and I just could wait to see how Blake Lively’s character Nancy would get away from the shark in the end.
In looking at the acting, this is actually probably Blake Lively’s best performance so far, usually she is just okay with her roles, but this was really different for her as an actress. While it’s more of a physical role in this film, she did have some emotional moments out there in the shallows with the shark and she was actually very good in this. She does a lot of diving, jumping, screaming, swimming and fighting in this and it’s all part of the story and it worked well.
If you’re going into this for some action, there is a good amount in here. You do see some people get smashed by a shark in the sea and there’s some very rough moments that you’ll witness during the film. As far as the special effects go, they’re decent enough that things look realistic and believable and the shark is actually pretty scary at times and is very powerful. I would not want to be stuck in the shallows with that shark swimming around.
The film has also got some nice scenery to look at and the all the water looks beautiful on the big screen, if it weren’t for that big shark swimming around in that water, I would love the visit the location where this film was set. The music is also well done, with very suspenseful music put in there and some nice tracks that were added in during the happier moments. I feel the music was actually one of the higher points of the film as it helped to establish the tone of the scenes perfectly throughout the film.
Overall The Shallows is a surprisingly decent shark thriller that I believe will keep cinema attendees entertained this weekend. This film is quite possibly Blake Lively’s best role so far in her career and we get to see things that we have never seen from this actress before on screen. Director Jaume Collet-Serra did a great job with the pacing of this film and things never really got boring or felt that they dragged on for too long, there was always some suspense for what was happening and that’s the greatest part about The Shallows. It’s a decent popcorn film and one that I think you’ll enjoy should you choose to see it this weekend.
