47 METERS DOWN (2017)

47 METERS DOWN (2017)

Tagline: No Help. No Hope. No Escape.

(Action, Drama, Sharks Will Eat Your Face Off) [PG-13]

In this one, two sisters Kate and Lisa decide to go deep into the ocean in a rusted jacked-out shark cage with two people they barely know. Lisa, the wiser one tries to talk her sister out of going, but Kate pretty much just decides to go along because sibling pressure sucks or something like that. On the trip, an unexpected circumstance leaves them trapped at the bottom of the ocean with just an hour of oxygen left.  

One cool thing about this movie is the realism in the sense that we get a ton of either really good effects or really solid practical shots. The sharks in the film look amazing real or not. I also really liked this cast and both the actresses playing the lead roles learned to scuba dive for the movie. If this thing got bashed for one thing, it was that the air tanks like they definitely would have run out of air well before they do in the film. It’s pretty awesome that I never look for realism in movies as you well know if you read my reviews. 

Acting-wise, Mandy Moore (TANGLED) is a pretty solid actress and does a good job as Lisa in this, but she is definitely outshined by Claire Holt (MEAN GIRLS 2) who plays her dumb sister Kate. We also get a bit of Matthew Modine (STRANGER THINGS) who does a decent job but isn’t asked to do much. 

The tone in this and the score is near perfect. Even though most of this is shot underwater in darkness, it’s pretty easy to see what is going on. I am guessing a lot of this was shot in a tank, but they do a great job of making it look like it’s on the bottom of the ocean. They also don’t waste any time getting to the point. There is a short introduction to these characters and bam, we are in the water. 

For a movie that isn’t in a marine biology base or on a submarine, or a spaceship that landed in the ocean, this might be the movie that spends the most time underwater that I have seen. The film offers up a tale of taking on an extreme situation and doing everything you can to survive, but it’s also a cautionary tale on not going diving in a super dumpy shark cage and a rusted and beaten cord with people you have never met. 

One thing they mention a lot in this movie is the bends, this is also known as decompression sickness and is also known as Caisson disease. It can occur when a diver is using a breathing regulator. The symptoms can affect your joints, lung, heart, skin, and brain. I won’t give away the ending, but it’s pretty rough along the lines of FALL. When I say rough, I mean, perhaps realistic, but kind of like they emotionally ripped your heart out. 

Overall I have to say this is one of the better shark movies out there in terms of production quality, acting, and the way these sharks all look. Unfortunately, it’s also just not that engaging and some of the sequences start to come across as just full-blown ridiculous. These girls should make a showing at the “Bad Luck In Film Awards” because they would definitely at least be nominees. 

When you start to put this up against other shark flicks it falls #15 out of 58 on my all-time shark movie list as of this review. My rating for this is a 5 out of 7. The production doesn’t make up for a lack of getting to know any of the characters or an ending that feels in any way like an ending.

GRAPHICS ARE THE PROPERTY OF THEFYZZ AND ARE USED FOR REVIEW PURPOSES ONLY.