47 Meters Down describes the fan score of this shark thriller

Movie Title:
  47 Meters Down  

Grade: C

Rating:   PG-13, 89 minutes

In a Nutshell: It’s pretty hard to beat Jaws.  While this movie’s sharp-toothed villains put on an impressive show, a lot of the lame dialogue prevents this thriller from really getting meaty. 

This film was going to go straight to video on demand, but it was finally decided that it would go to the Big Screen…if that tells you anything.

Uplifting theme: 

• Family, love
• Persistence, tenacity, never give up, hope
• Choices have consequences
• Think twice before deciding to go down into the deep, dark ocean with sharks!

My real life shark story: Have you ever seen a shark up close?  Years ago, I was snorkeling in St. Thomas by myself while my husband took a nap on the beach in the cove nearby.  (Tip: always snorkel with a partner.)  It’s easy to lose track of time and distance when you’re under the water chasing tropical fish.  I decided to lift my head up out of the water to see where I was and was shocked to see I was WAY far out in the ocean past the safety of the cove, so I quickly decided I needed to head back to the beach. 

When I put my face back in the water, I saw a SHARK swimming right towards me!!!!  I was terrified and actually thought I could outswim it, kicking as fast as I could toward the shore.  I knew any minute I would feel the vicious creature chomp down on my legs to eat me.  It was the scariest thing I had ever imagined would happen to me.  I was almost shocked when, after swimming like crazy for a couple of minutes, I couldn’t see the shark anymore.  I couldn’t believe it hadn’t attacked me yet.  I knew it was still just a matter of time before it would, so I continued to swim to shore like a crazy person.

Finally, I made it to the sand and ran directly to the surf shack where I screamed, “There’s a shark in the water!”  The staff was unimpressed and calmly asked me to point to the type of shark I saw on a sun-faded poster that hung on the wall.  I quickly scanned the images of all the ferocious sharks, pointing at the one I saw.  They laughed and said it was a nurse shark, apparently harmless.  I was relieved and embarrassed, but I vowed to never go that far out in the ocean by myself again.  The End.  True Story.

OK, back to the movie review:

Things I liked:

• When you start to notice your own breathing, you know the under-water scenes are engaging.  That DID happen a few times while I watched the movie.  I kept holding my breath under the water.  Suspenseful!  Well done!
• There is a good amount of tension.
• You learn about scuba diving, nitrogen narcosis, and getting “the bends.”
• The sharks look really great. 
• I wish I were on vacation right now.

Things I didn’t like:

• The character development was very weak and made the audience simply not care much about the sisters.  In fact, it seemed like the audience I sat with was hoping for someone to become shark bait.  It's the character development that had a lot to do with making Jaws such a successful film.
• There’s not that much the girls can do once they’re stuck in the bottom of the sea, besides cry and be scared.
• The acting was pretty bad.
• Lots of cliché’d jumps and scares.
• Super dumb dialogue.  Most of the lines include screaming and heavy breathing and sound like this: “We’re going to make it!  Just stay with me!”
• I was chatting with a girl who is an actual Captain of a ship in Tortola and I so I asked if she had seen this movie.  She said she lasted about 15 minutes and then had to walk out.  She was furious that humans would put themselves down in a cage as shark bait and then be furious when the sharks acted like animals.  Good point.

·       Sharks keep missing the girls, as if they haven’t learned how to aim for their prey after thousands of years of biology.

• It’s a true drama with no humor.
• This is the kind of movie that’s going to have a hard time being scary if it’s being watched on your little computer screen at home.
• The twist at the end was pretty lame.
• I liked The Shallows better.  At least it's not Sharknado.

Tips for parents: 

• There’s a lot of blood.
• Some of the sharks look pretty scary.
• Young kids may not want to go into the ocean after seeing this.
• Pre-teens and teens will probably like it, especially if they haven't seen better shark movies.
• Some spoken Spanish with no subtitles.

                                            

@trinaboice