GREAT WHITE (2021)

GREAT WHITE (2021)

Tagline: Take Your Final Breathe

(Thriller, Horror, Sharks Will Eat Your Face Off) [PG-13]

Note: This movie wasn’t given an MPAA rating as far as I can tell, but I think some of the language and gnarly gore would have had it getting a PG-13.

In this one, a couple that runs a seaplane business (with a plane that looks like they stole it from KFC and painted over the logo) doing tours is offered a job they need, taking a couple to see a remote place the locals call Hell’s Reef. After finding a dead victim of a shark attack on the island they are visiting, the pilot Charlie decides they need to go see if anyone survived. That ends up being a huge mistake as a great white shark attacks the seaplane sinking it. Now Charlie, his fiancé Kaz, co-worker Benny, and their two clients must survive long enough to get back to shore miles away on a raft. 

First off this movie is a slow-mover after the first 20 minutes or so. There is a lot of time spent on this raft for these people and that gives time for plenty of back story, but you are going to have to be patient before the tension really builds up again. Don’t worry, it does. In reading some of the reviews for this, there is a lot of hate thrown at the acting, but that isn’t really a problem at all in this movie. I have no idea where that comes from. The acting is pretty impeccable aside from maybe one performance. 

What works in this movie is that finally after watching a ton of shark movies even dating back to JAWS, we finally get a scene in a movie that very closely matches the poster for the movie. My hats off to the producers for giving us a pretty haunting film with very real-looking shark effects. The other thing I thought this movie did well was giving us at least a backstory for these characters. One is pregnant, so anyone with even half a heart wants that person to live at the very least. Another thing we get in this is some amazing scenery. We have had some decent shark movie locations, but this one is just another incredible example of the beauty that is out there. It should also be noted that this wasn’t’ “Thrills And Spills” only shark movie this year, they also did THE REEF: STALKED.  

Acting-wise, this movie is largely carried by Katrina Bowden (Kaz) who is known for movies like TUCKER AND DALE VS EVIL and the TV show 30 Rock. We also get a decent performance out of Aaron Jakubenko as Charlie, but it probably won’t blow any minds. Tim Kano probably delivers the most annoying performance as Joji, but it’s probably just the character and not the actor that was the problem. We also get a pretty decent amount of screen time from Te Kohe Tuhaka as Benny. He’s probably my favorite character in this. Tuhaka is probably best known for a small role in LOVE AND MONSTERS. Then finally we have Kimie Tsukakoshi playing Michelle. She is stellar in this, but I haven’t seen any of her other films. 

Where this movie kind of drops the ball is in that it’s another very recent shark movie “downer”. The final track of the movie kind of sends the message that we should be thrilled about our survivors, but this movie kind of leaves you with an empty feeling. Mostly for one of the characters that ends up living and not the other. One of them will bounce back because their partner was just the freakin worst human being in this damn movie. I also wasn’t a fan of the slow pacing. A lot like THE REQUIN, we get some highly tense situations, but this is not a “let’s have fun with shark movies” type movie. This is a "grit your teeth and pray to God you never have a seaplane pilot this dumb" type of movie. 

Just like THE REQUIN, this movie is not much fun, but it is better in the dialog department. For me, this is a 4 out of 7, but that is the best  I can do. If you are looking for a tense shark survivor-type movie, this thing will get the job done.
 

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