Well, this was a pleasant surprise.
Jaume Collet-Serra, the director of tight little flicks, categorized as mainstream B-movies, include 'House of wax' (the remake), 'Unknown', 'Non-Stop' and 'Run All night'. I've enjoyed them all, and think they've not gotten their due, along with the man himself not getting his.
The good news? Not getting his due has not deterred him in the least. He knows what he's good at, what's his schtick, of sorts, and plays around in his wheelhouse that he's perhaps made one of the most engaging thrillers I've seen all year (and the list includes Fede Alvarez's 'Don't breathe'), which might just come undone if you show this to die-hard 'Jaws' fans.
Blake Lively, fantastic in 'The Town', 'The age of Adaline', 'Savages' (the Oliver Stone flick, not the Laura Linney/Philip Seymour Hoffman one), wasted in 'Green Lantern' (and yet effective), is one of the most expressive actresses around, and fits the role of the empowered individual with a soft/vulnerable core, to a T.
The movie completely focuses on her (sort of a 'person vs Wild' thing going on for most of its running time there), and she gives no one any reason for dissatisfaction about her being cast as such.
There are ongoing conversations about objectifying her, but what do you expect when you go to the beach?
The writing (this is a marked improvement for writer Anthony Jaswinski, from the unable-to-meet-its-potential 'Vanishing on 7th street'), Location work, Effects, Editing, Cinematography (Flavio Martínez Labiano - Unknown, Non-Stop, The Gunman, Timecrimes/Los cronocrímenes) are all pitch-perfect. That's refreshing (ideally, it should Not be, it is something we should take for granted, in this day and age), especially in the recent past, since most big-budget movies have been undoing their good work by not investing as much in good special effects/CGI (Mechanic: Resurrection', anyone? Though it could be argued that the Dolphin dives look like bad CGI). The visualizations of characters texting one another, video-calling one another, showing the timepiece in terms of 'x' hours to low/high tide (the last part, imho, could have been considered unnecessary) is very pleasant to behold. We need more of that.
The narrative decision to start from some other place in time, is not something I'm a fan of, usually, but works very well in the context of this movie.
Brett Cullen, in 2 of his scenes, reminded me a lot of Chris Cooper, in a good way. But the backstory, though strong, could've used a little more meat.
The concept of not having the creature as a generic monster, but only as someone who is protecting its own (feeding) turf, and only then makes its presence known (in spite of most of the imagery after, including the surfing one - which is fantastic), and begins, plus stays with, its aggressive approach, is very refreshing, and veers close to being as realistic in this context as possible.
The initial tone of the flick, with happy pop songs peppering the soundtrack when everything is bright and cozy on the private cove of sorts, is something pleasant, though I wasn't too comfy with it, seamlessly transitioned into something like the thriller we get to see, about 20/30 minutes into the flick. That kinda transition, is only good with seasoned/talented people at the helm.
Collet-Serra has repeated most of the talent he's collaborated with before, and that always translates to work that seems sure-footed, and this also falls in the same category.
All in all, it is not a perfect movie, but is still worth multiple viewings. On the big screen, with good projection and sound systems.
Jaume Collet-Serra, the director of tight little flicks, categorized as mainstream B-movies, include 'House of wax' (the remake), 'Unknown', 'Non-Stop' and 'Run All night'. I've enjoyed them all, and think they've not gotten their due, along with the man himself not getting his.
The good news? Not getting his due has not deterred him in the least. He knows what he's good at, what's his schtick, of sorts, and plays around in his wheelhouse that he's perhaps made one of the most engaging thrillers I've seen all year (and the list includes Fede Alvarez's 'Don't breathe'), which might just come undone if you show this to die-hard 'Jaws' fans.
Blake Lively, fantastic in 'The Town', 'The age of Adaline', 'Savages' (the Oliver Stone flick, not the Laura Linney/Philip Seymour Hoffman one), wasted in 'Green Lantern' (and yet effective), is one of the most expressive actresses around, and fits the role of the empowered individual with a soft/vulnerable core, to a T.
The movie completely focuses on her (sort of a 'person vs Wild' thing going on for most of its running time there), and she gives no one any reason for dissatisfaction about her being cast as such.
There are ongoing conversations about objectifying her, but what do you expect when you go to the beach?
The writing (this is a marked improvement for writer Anthony Jaswinski, from the unable-to-meet-its-potential 'Vanishing on 7th street'), Location work, Effects, Editing, Cinematography (Flavio Martínez Labiano - Unknown, Non-Stop, The Gunman, Timecrimes/Los cronocrímenes) are all pitch-perfect. That's refreshing (ideally, it should Not be, it is something we should take for granted, in this day and age), especially in the recent past, since most big-budget movies have been undoing their good work by not investing as much in good special effects/CGI (Mechanic: Resurrection', anyone? Though it could be argued that the Dolphin dives look like bad CGI). The visualizations of characters texting one another, video-calling one another, showing the timepiece in terms of 'x' hours to low/high tide (the last part, imho, could have been considered unnecessary) is very pleasant to behold. We need more of that.
The narrative decision to start from some other place in time, is not something I'm a fan of, usually, but works very well in the context of this movie.
Brett Cullen, in 2 of his scenes, reminded me a lot of Chris Cooper, in a good way. But the backstory, though strong, could've used a little more meat.
The concept of not having the creature as a generic monster, but only as someone who is protecting its own (feeding) turf, and only then makes its presence known (in spite of most of the imagery after, including the surfing one - which is fantastic), and begins, plus stays with, its aggressive approach, is very refreshing, and veers close to being as realistic in this context as possible.
The initial tone of the flick, with happy pop songs peppering the soundtrack when everything is bright and cozy on the private cove of sorts, is something pleasant, though I wasn't too comfy with it, seamlessly transitioned into something like the thriller we get to see, about 20/30 minutes into the flick. That kinda transition, is only good with seasoned/talented people at the helm.
Collet-Serra has repeated most of the talent he's collaborated with before, and that always translates to work that seems sure-footed, and this also falls in the same category.
All in all, it is not a perfect movie, but is still worth multiple viewings. On the big screen, with good projection and sound systems.