Bullet Points: Great White
Shark movies are a dime a dozen. When you decide to watch one, you know it will not be the second coming of Jaws, but you pray it will not be something that makes Sharknado look like an Oscar caliber film. You hope the shark looks decent and the cast is not too annoying. That is not much to ask, but it seems most shark movies are below-average at best. Great White is the latest shark film to land at my desk at Bulletproof Action headquarters. What caught my attention is it is from RLJE Films, which means it will soon be streaming on one of the most underrated channels out there in Shudder. But first it will be taking a bite out of Theaters, On Demand and Digital on July 16, 2021. It should be noted the USA is one of the last countries to get Great White. It has already been released in a lot of other territories and the IMDb score is nothing to write home about. That has never stopped me before. Let me hush up and dive into this review.
- Jaws: The plot for Great White is about as generic as they come. A tourist trip turns into a nightmare when five seaplane passengers are trapped at sea and hunted by a Great White Shark. Great White stars Katrina Bowden (Kaz), Aaron Jakubenko (Charlie), Kimie Tsukakoshi (Michelle), Tim Kano (Joji) and Te Kohe Tuhaka (Benny). It is directed by Martin Wilson and written by Michael Boughen. Great White is an Australian film.
- Jaws 2: So how is the cast? Katrina Bowden is the only name I was familiar with. She usually plays a supporting role and she is usually in a bikini. You might know her from Tucker and Dale vs Evil or Piranha 3DD. Her Kaz character is an American nurse living with her Australian boyfriend, Charlie. They operate a tourist adventure company and of course their money is running low. My favorite of the five characters is Benny. He works for the tourist company as a cook. He also has some legit sexual tension with Michelle, but too bad Michelle is married to Joji. Everything now is starting to make sense, right? Michelle and Joji hire Charlie, Kaz and Benny to take them on an island adventure. Did I tell you Charlie keeps having flashbacks to a shark attack that almost killed him? He has the scar to prove it. The cast is okay. There was a chance to explore some plot developments and details, but they are ignored for one reason or another.
- Jaws 3-D: We do not have any shark theme music. The tension does start early when the shark makes fish food out of a jobber couple only in the movie to set up the rest of the film. Shark movies should never run over 90 minutes and at least Great White follows that rule. I will get more to the action when I get to my discussion of the shark.
- Jaws: The Revenge: I am sure you remember the roaring shark in Jaws: The Revenge? I believe I understand why the IMDb score is so low for Great White. We once again have a shark that likes to make noises. It is not a roar, but more of a grunt. The shark is a mixed bag in Great White. The kills are not good. You do not see anyone ripped to shreds. Most of the shark killing is done off camera. There is one awful looking CG shot of a shark trying to bite a seaplane. It is hard to look at without busting into laughter. I do not believe that is the vibe the director was looking for.
- Baby Shark: Great White does nothing new for the shark genre. With a little more effort, it could have been one of the more entertaining shark movies. The scenery is nice. The camera does great in capturing beach scenes in Australia. I do not believe all of the action was filmed on beaches and real water, but I could be wrong. I would be more comfortable recommending you wait until it streams on Shudder before watching. On a positive note, I do think it is better than its 4.1 out of 10 rating on IMDb at the time of this review.
- Grade: C
