The Shallows

Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water, there's "The Shallows". I can't help but think that for those that are past the age of 40, would have to think of the film "Jaws" while watching this movie. Not because this is a copy of "Jaws", but that I believe this is a homage to the film.

Young surfer Nancy (Blake Lively) travels to a secluded beach in search of a secret spot that her mother had discovered years earlier. While paddling out into the waves, she comes across a dead whale which has huge bites taken out of it. She only realizes that this has become a feeding ground, because, eventually, she is hunted by a great white shark and is then stranded on an embankment 200 yards from the shoreline. For now, she is experiencing low tide, however in a matter of hours, she will be at a high tide point and will have to fight for her life. As she sits as a sitting duck alone and wounded, she has to become creative in her ways in which to survive and get back to shore before the tide sets in. Time is of the essence as she plays a virtual 'cat and mouse' game which this eating machine.

Others to round out the cast are Oscar Jaenada as Carlos, a guy who drove her to the beach, Brett Cullen as Nancy's father, Sedona Legge as Chloe, Nancy's sister, Angelo Josue as a surfer, Lozano Corzo as another surfer and Pablo Calva as a small boy.

This was intensely directed by Jaume Collet-Serra ("House of Wax" '05, "Goal II: Living the Dream" '07, "Orphan" '09, "Unknown" '11, "Non-Stop" '14, "Run All Night" '15) plus TV. By this filmmaker's very resume, he knows horrific and intense. The way he was able to exude the different emotions from Lively: fear, terror, dread, exhaustion, consignment, and back again was amazing and extremely realistic in how anyone would be handling said situation given the same scenario. Lively has done some fine work before this, but after this, I believe she will not have any problem securing her next project. It was creatively written by Anthony Jaswinski in that it would be so easy to repeat the power that "Jaws" brought to the screen back in 1975. But this had an entirely a different storyline where it was clearly a struggle with the two different wills. The only thing that didn't seem clear was that near the end of the film, one would wonder if this film was done as a flashback, however I personally didn't see that as the film played out. Otherwise, this had all the elements that made for a great summer flick.

Certainly if you liked "Jaws" or anything similar, you'll love this, not, as mentioned prior, because it was another "Jaws", but that it was definitely a homage to it. Most of this had Lively as sole actor, and she was able to keep the audience's attention and then some. Grab the popcorn and hold on to your seat!

Out of 4 Stars: 3.5                                     Rated: PG-13                                   87mins.