Nothing like a killer shark movie right when the heat is about to drive you into the water. Two sisters -- different as can be, with all the drama attached -- on vacation in Mexico attempt to drink and dance away their problems, namely the boyfriend of one who recently dumped her for making their relationship boring. The adventurous sister, however, strikes up conversation with two local hotties who invite the girls to go swimming with sharks from the safety of a cage. Disregarding all the ominous foreshadowing, they all travel out to the open sea and lower the cage with the boys inside. All goes well, and the girls jump in next. As we know, the cable snaps, sending them plummeting from 5 meters down to 47 meters, where the water is murky at best and they are just out of radio reach.
47 Meters Down is exactly what you expect. What it isn't, unfortunately, is as good as it could be. Before long, it becomes dreadfully clear that the budget is just not there. We're treated to lengthy scenes of chatter filtered through face masks wherein the women repeat their desperation and fear. The sharks aren't often visible, the ocean itself is lackluster (maybe I wanted the grandeur of Finding Nemo, okay?), and the plot skirts some real dramatic possibilities. In lieu of intelligent and ballsy action, such as we see in The Shallows, here we get frustrating inaction that makes us want to shout out advice as the characters do seemingly foolish things. Then again, in their situation, I probably would act even less rationally. Director Johannes Roberts does some interesting things with this film, primary of which is keeping things very close and dark. There's not a lot of light this deep underwater, and the mounting pressure makes the viewer feel as though we're buried alive. Rather than scoping broad aquatic vistas, we're forced into uncomfortable close-ups that remind us of how limited human vision really is.
In fact, this flick feels more like Buried than like Gravity, considering its claustrophobic vision and lack of existential theme, which may not be such a bad thing for a summer thriller. I just wanted a bit more action, a bit more frisson, a bit more bite. The sudden appearance of large, toothy sharks is gasp-inducing, to be sure, but gone is the long build of terror as they come swimming along; here they lunge out of darkness as if the ocean floor were a haunted house. Not always bad, but not great either. Most of the anxiety of the film comes with quickly emptying oxygen tanks and attempts to make radio contact; once or twice the women have to swim outside the cage to free it from debris or collect supplies such as a flashlight and more air tanks. But even these brief excursions feel more like the fabric of The Blair Witch Project than Jaws, as the dark water closes in and the characters lose all sense of direction. And then there's the final act, with a twist I didn't see coming and a complex ending I'm not sure the movie deserved. I'm not even sure it's a good ending; I felt cheated then confused then angry and now just ambivalent. Then again, the movie needed something to set it apart from others of its ilk.
IMDb: 47 Meters Down
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