It's difficult to write a review about a shark movie whilst not comparing it to a certain "we need a bigger boat" classic. It certainly doesn't come close to that particular film - it's watchable; but that's about it in my opinion.
The Shallows is unfortunately one of those movies which, once you have seen the trailers, you've pretty much seen the entire film. There's not a huge story-line involved... yes, there's the main character (Blake Lively - who is also very beautiful) coming to terms with her own past and decisions she's made.
I felt that once the story got going, everything slowed down to a standstill; and I'm afraid to say that I started feeling bored - far from what I expected after seeing the trailers and hype.
I'm not saying The Shallows is a bad movie - Blake does a decent job, the CGI/shark scenes/SFX are more believable than most films in this 'genre', and the acting isn't anything to complain about. Where The Shallows loses stars (for me) is just the fact that the story-line is very limited - it's more of a psychological survival battle than a hunter/prey type movie.
To sum up - The Shallows is worth a watch. I wouldn't put it up there with the 'classic', but nor would I put it down with some of the worst shark movies I've tried to watch (you know the ones). Location and atmosphere all work (would probably be difficult to do a shark movie that didn't involve the sea tho' - although it's being done in one of those crazy ones!). I was very much looking forward to this film; am just a little disappointed there wasn't more to it - jump scenes, shark scenes and perhaps a slightly better story line.
Finally...I wouldn't be surprised if Steven Seagull gets his own movie next year!
Overall: 5/10... Not the best... but far from the worst.
