REVIEW: THE SHALLOWS

Blake Lively takes us on a shark thriller in the new film, The Shallows. But how will this film compare to the other “shark movies” of the past?

The Shallows tells the story of a young girl named, Sally, played by Blake Lively, who after surfing in the deep waters, is forced to become stranded on a rock after being attacked by a shark. Sally tries to escape and get back to shore, however, the only back, is by swimming near the one thing that is in her way. The shark has it out for Sally, as you’ll see in the film. The story becomes a contained thriller, as Sally demands that she will fight her way back home.

This film is small, but overall, massive. What do I mean by that? Well, Lively along with basically about seven other characters, set up the film’s narrative. Many things can go wrong for a film will such a small caliber, but The Shallows pull it off. How many great “shark films” have we seen in the past 10 years? One or two, maybe. The Shallows is like Gravity meets Jaws. You take the element of a woman fighting to get home, and everything seems to go wrong, and then you add in a little shark for the fear aspect. Overall this film really did some great things.

First and foremost, I must say I am impressed with Lively’s performance. She has the whole movie on her shoulders, and she acts her heart out. Though there were probably too many butt and boob shots, which I could have lived without, but I’m sure most men are happy about that, the character of Sally really makes you feel for her. Lively owns this movies! It’s hers by all means. She pulls out all the stops, and holds nothing back. There are even some queasy scenes where she really had to be believable in the emotions she was exhibiting. And boy, was she believable! Along with Lively’s performance, this film is incredible to look at. Director, Jaume Collet-Serra, does a beautiful job at giving the audience a massive look at Sally’s surroundings. By experiencing the emptiness of the dark ocean, fear begins to set in on the audience, as Sally fights for her survival.

But where The Shallows went wrong is where most movies of this genre go wrong. After about 45 minutes of this film, it becomes a little repetitive, if it hasn’t already. With every intense scene, your heart jumps. But when the film slows, it slows to a halt.

The Shallows is definitely geared to a younger generation, as Sally constantly uses modern technology to communicate with the outside world. You even begin to wonder, how much did GoPro have to pay for this? It’s basically a big GoPro ad in some scenes. But none the less, The Shallows is a film worth seeing this summer. Especially, for those people who may just be spending their vacation on the beach.

The Shallows

Directed by: Jaume Collet-Serra

Starring: Blake Lively

Rating: