The Shallows
Director: Jaume Collet-Serra
Grade: B
Blake Lively takes a surfing trip to a hidden beach and winds up attacked by a shark and fighting for her life stuck like 200 yards off shore.
Sometimes you just want to go see a good shark movie. I had fun with this one. Honestly, it’s the first theatrical release I’ve seen in a couple of weeks that got some real tears out of me. It’s beautiful to look at. (Seriously, I wanted to go to this place until the whole shark thing started!)
Lively was really good too. I mean my biggest concern with this one was that she couldn’t carry it but I think she did a really good job. I was never bored with it. Nancy is a med student going through a bit of a hard time but she’s smart and uses her brains to attempt to get through an impossible situation.
The pigeon, Steven Seagull, was adorable. I really liked that he stayed with her. It just seemed like he was thinking, “Yeah, we’ll get through this together buddy!” Also appreciated that the shark had a reason for being there (besides the obvious it’s an ocean reason) and being so angry.
I really liked how this one was shot to. The gore was kept to a minimum (although I know mileage will vary on that one) but the tension was there and there was never a time in the stunts where I thought, “Hey, that’s not Lively!”
The movie had some downsides for me. Like she asks a question in the beginning we never get the answer to. And I kept wondering like where her friend back at the hotel was. I know the beach was supposed to be hidden and she said the girl was a screw-up. But come on? Your friend goes surfing and doesn’t come back to the hotel for a night and you don’t find her?
I also learned that maybe it’s not a bad idea to wear a lot of jewelry while surfing because you never know what you might need or what you might need to do with it.
Recommend: Yes. It’s a fun summer movie.