The Shallows

The Shallows is not a serious horror movie or thriller that would stay with you. It’s formally spectacular entertainment for a popcorn audience with some exciting moments, and it is full of crap, especially in the climax. It is kept above average only by the charm and acting skills of Blake Lively. In these waters, I prefer more minimalist and believable nerve-racking movies like The Reef. (2016-08-16)

Water Gravity light. A B-movie that I enjoyed and which enjoyed me. They don’t have to look into my head and pull phobias out of there. But the jellyfish scene will haunt me until just before I die. Thanks to Blake Lively, a sweet combination of an erection and a contracted ass. Jaume could have done without a couple of the over the top of the top scenes, but otherwise it’s the ultimate summer eye candy. Everything one needs from crisp exploitation. (2016-08-04)

The Shallows is qualitatively comparable to Deep Blue Sea and The Reef, although each film is a little different, but they all have one thing in common, a fight to the death against a bloodthirsty shark. While both of the aforementioned are about a bunch of multiple people, The Shallows is essentially a one-woman-show (+ one loyal seagull), so we only have time to focus on Blake Lively, whom I find exceedingly likeable, and I was really rooting for her. The film definitely benefits from a shorter running time, and since the tension is spread out just right, it doesn't have a chance to get boring. The shark was quite well done, as was the dead whale, whose incorporation into the plot was imaginative. All in all, a decent survival drama that gets a bit more wild towards the end in terms of plot progression, but what the hell, it is a pleasantly suspenseful eighty minutes. (2016-09-10)

It lacks the "something extra" I found in the recent The Grey, and the last five minutes are downright annoying, but otherwise The Shallows is more than a good - above all - spectacle. Blake Lively, colored by nature like in a travel agency catalogue, and the great shark (not shown much, not because it was difficult to make it, but because of the tension, which is good) were a joy to watch. The film goes by quickly, it's fast-paced and entertaining, the direction knows what to do to make sure there is not too much of anything (I liked one off-screen feast a lot) and the soundtrack by Marco Beltrami is definitely one of the best things to come out of film music this year. Pure four stars. (2016-08-12)

When an ordinary mortal encounters a clearly pissed off and big white shark with a full set of teeth while surfing, they are instantly done for. But when such a shark encounters Blake Lively, an American who can expertly sew up a laceration with her own bracelet and is a warrior for her late mother, we suddenly have a wide-open and quite dynamic battle for survival. But as much as I initially enjoyed the rather cinematic story, and as much as Serra repeatedly satisfied me with quick but clear editing, solid pacing, and a lot of iconic shots of the beautiful Blake's semi-naked body, the depleted thematic well gradually began to show its negative effects, leading to a riveting but heavily exaggerated finale that doesn't even reach the tip of the back fin of Jaws. At home, thanks to Beltrami's unobtrusive (and wonderfully escalated) soundtrack it was alright, but I wouldn't go to the cinema to see something so blatantly digital. (2016-07-29)