Blake Lively is up against a killer shark in The Shallows. While the film has a few edge-of-the-seat moments, does it have a story to back them up? We take a closer look at it in The Shallows film review.
The Shallows Film Review – The Story
Nancy (Blake Lively), a med student, is on a secluded beach, and while surfing encounters a female, white shark. Taking shelter on a tiny island surrounding the shark’s feeding ground, Nancy has her work cut out if she has to make it to the shore that’s 200 yards adrift.
The Shallows Film Review – The Negatives
For an exploitation film, The Shallows is a rather low-key affair. The significant moments that are there in the movie are few and far between, and as a viewer, you wait for something to happen for way too long. Considering that this film only lasts for around 90 minutes, that’s fine if the result were to produce something dramatic. Also, even though you want to know what’s going to happen to Blake Lively’s character, you don’t care much for her. You simply aren’t that emotionally invested in her character. There is a seagull along with her while she’s on the island. Why show someone (even a bird) give her company on the island, when you want to depict peril? Things like this diffuse the tension that would have otherwise made this a movie worth watching.
The Shallow Film Review – The Positives
With a runtime of less than an hour and a half, Jaume Collet-Serra, the director, keeps us just about invested in the film. Once the shark attacks her, Blake Lively’s acting gets progressively better. She manages to maintain the momentum throughout the movie. The shark attack sequences are well done and look quite frightening. One might argue that the film could have done with more of these.
Final Word
The only reason you would want to go check out The Shallows in the theater is if you are a big fan of Blake Lively. If you want to watch a great slow burner set in the ocean, give Open Water a shot instead. Watching it will be a far more rewarding experience than this B-grade exploitation fare.
Stars: 2/5
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