Movie Review: ''The Shallows'' - Hollywood's newly-released 'shark and awe' film is aptly named

THE WOODLANDS, Texas - Just when you thought it was safe to go back to the movie theater, Hollywood rolls out another ‘shark and awe’ film to ensure you’ll stay away from the beach and remain in the theaters this summer.

Filming began late October 2015, and that same month the film's title was changed from In The Deep to The Shallows. The movie is aptly named. Movie-making doesn’t get more shallow than this. Practically a cast of one matching wits with a Great White shark.

Filming took place on the Gold Coast of Australia. (One account stated Gold Coast was in the upper east state of Queensland, another said the lower east state of South Wales.) Please! This movie isn’t worth fighting over bragging rights, but the scenery certainly is. Kudos to cinematographer Flavio Labiano for the breathtakingly beautiful scenery; showcasing Australia in all its radiant beauty. The ‘secluded’ beach in the movie was not spelled out specifically, but it is suppose to be somewhere off the coast of Mexico, referred to as “Paradise” beach. It’s not specified whether it’s east or west coast of Mexico, so take your chances if vacation south of the border.

I’ve digress. On to the movie…

Pro surfer, Nancy Adams (Blake Lively), and a full-time student at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston (nice hometown connection)...wait a minute! How do you get to be a pro surfer if you’re carrying a full college load? Anyway, she goes surfing at a secluded place to get away after a tragic loss. She’s knocked off her surfboard and attacked by a Great White, and survives by climbing on a dead whale carcass. You read that right. A floating whale carcass. Fortunately she’s a med student and manages to save her life with some life-saving first aid. Then in a kind of ‘island hopping’ maneuvering, she makes it to some rocks, and then a buoy, managing to out swim the shark. (It helped to be a pro surfer.)

That pretty much sums it up. The movie is a survival film of Lively (she’s aptly named too), puts up a lively struggle to clinging to a whale carcass, a rock, and then a buoy, all the while being taunted by the shark.

The rest of the cast consists of just three other actors with cameo appearances, and some bit players, which are devoured by the shark in an effort to save Lively. (This is how Hollywood keeps the salary budget to a minimum. They feed them to the sharks.) This brings up the question, “Why would a shark that’s just consumed a couple of full meal deals, hand around waiting for another to fall off a rock?”

Resident shark diver/photographer, Paul Spielvogel, was asked about this.

“Human beings are not a shark’s diet, and often release their human prey after sampling it.”

Statistics state that you have a 1 in 3,700,000 chance of being killed by a shark. Only five people die from shark attacks yearly. Unfortunately some bleed out from the attack, but sharks aren’t known to devour human beings.

Little known fact...93% of shark attacks from 1580 to 2010 worldwide were on males. In the movie two male surfers were the first and second course, so Blake Lively may have been worrying her pretty little head needlessly.

There are far more dangerous issues you’ll confront when going to beach. Flesh-eating amoebas for one, and the United States Lifesaving Association estimates that more than 100 people die each year due to rip currents on our nation's beaches.

The music composed by American film composer, Marco Beltrami, best known for scoring horror films, certainly added to the tension and set the tone for the movie.

Here’s my recommendation. Go to the beach and have a wonderful summer. Forget about being eaten by a shark. Only 5 people die from shark attacks yearly. The odds of getting caught in a rip current is much greater. The United States Lifesaving Association estimates that the annual number of deaths due to rip currents on our nation's beaches exceeds 100, and account for over 80% of rescues by beach lifeguards. And while stating statistics, over 17,000 people die from falls each year.

The Shallows has received generally positive reviews from critics, with Blake Lively's performance being critically praised. Rotten Tomatoes rates the film 75%, based on 95 reviews, with an average rating of 6.4 out of 10. Metacritic scores the film 58 out of 100, based on 31 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".

Spielvogel was asked if he had seen the movie? He replied, “No.” Did he intend to see the movie? “No.”

Running time: Eighty-six minutes of terrifying screams (Shaved the budget here too, by not needing a scriptwriter.)

The movie is rated PG-13 for bloody images, intense sequences of peril, and brief strong language (brief because there’s not a lot of dialogue going on in basically a one-woman show.)

See related article of interview with Paul Spielvogel and daughter, Jessie Spielvogel, both shark divers and photographers…Shark Week brings out the best in the Spielvogel family of shark divers

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