The Shallows

When an ordinary mortal encounters a clearly pissed off and big white shark with a full set of teeth while surfing, they are instantly done for. But when such a shark encounters Blake Lively, an American who can expertly sew up a laceration with her own bracelet and is a warrior for her late mother, we suddenly have a wide-open and quite dynamic battle for survival. But as much as I initially enjoyed the rather cinematic story, and as much as Serra repeatedly satisfied me with quick but clear editing, solid pacing, and a lot of iconic shots of the beautiful Blake's semi-naked body, the depleted thematic well gradually began to show its negative effects, leading to a riveting but heavily exaggerated finale that doesn't even reach the tip of the back fin of Jaws. At home, thanks to Beltrami's unobtrusive (and wonderfully escalated) soundtrack it was alright, but I wouldn't go to the cinema to see something so blatantly digital. (07/29/2016)

Blake is kissable and the seagull is straight-up Oscar-worthy, but the whole story, despite its sympathetic length, is kind of dull and features no real surprises. A couple of times I admiringly pondered the production background, where the camera games probably end and the casual special effects begin, but Serra accepts only very sloppy screenwriting assignments into his crafted workshop. [Finale = humorous self-parodic failure. I was quite sad about all the previous efforts.] (06/09/2017)

The Shallows is not a serious horror movie or thriller that would stay with you. It’s formally spectacular entertainment for a popcorn audience with some exciting moments, and it is full of crap, especially in the climax. It is kept above average only by the charm and acting skills of Blake Lively. In these waters, I prefer more minimalist and believable nerve-racking movies like The Reef. (08/16/2016)

An impactful, audiovisual thriller work that is nearly perfectly crafted in terms of the gradation of all key moments. Blake Lively effortlessly navigates through all positions, and when she emerges onto the board/whale/rock just a few centimeters away from the jaws of a shark, I thought I'd be left with the cinema armrests in my hands. Therefore, it is a pity that in the end, it doesn't deviate from going predictably over the top and you have to say goodbye to a great show as it instead turns laughable. Those genre boundaries that Jaume Collet-Serra skillfully tried to sweep away for a while are needlessly beaten up by the shallows at the very end. (08/11/2016)

It lacks the "something extra" I found in the recent The Grey, and the last five minutes are downright annoying, but otherwise The Shallows is more than a good - above all - spectacle. Blake Lively, colored by nature like in a travel agency catalogue, and the great shark (not shown much, not because it was difficult to make it, but because of the tension, which is good) were a joy to watch. The film goes by quickly, it's fast-paced and entertaining, the direction knows what to do to make sure there is not too much of anything (I liked one off-screen feast a lot) and the soundtrack by Marco Beltrami is definitely one of the best things to come out of film music this year. Pure four stars. (08/12/2016)