As I shamelessly admitted when I revealed that Jaws is my favorite movie of all time, I mentioned that because of that movie, I will almost always check out the latest entry in the movies that were spawned by Jaws. Killer sharks. Piranha. If they film it, I will watch.
That leads us to today's entry in the food chain: Bait.
The story: A tsunami hits Australia and amidst all the destruction, an underground shopping center is flooded... and a 12 foot killer shark is swimming around... hungry. The survivors attempt to find a way out without becoming shark food in the process.
Meanwhile, in the parking garage, a few more survivors have a 2nd shark to deal with.
Welcome to Australia, hope you survive the experience.
Often times, the sign of a good "B" movie is when it realizes it's a B movie, and doesn't attempt to pass itself off as the latest Citizen Kane. And conversely, they don't play down the fact that they are a B movie and that they should be some higher artform, but can't be, so they'll just wing it.
When you get a good balance, you get a movie that is more enjoyable than you thought it would be.
Which that is high praise for any movie. If it is better than your expectations, it usually turns out pretty good for the audience.
This movie has no stars that I recognize aside from Julian McMahon (Nip/Tuck; Fantastic Four). Nope, instead it's 2 stories that allow the movie to bounce back and forth between the two groups of survivors and their attempts to survive their respective sharks.
It is that back and forth action that makes the movie pretty darn riveting. Instead of 90 minutes watching one group escape from one or two sharks... you get a break from one story, and can spend a few minutes on the other story.
The shark effects are better than your SyFy Channel entries, but it is amazing that in all the years since Jaws, practical and CGI cannot seem to generate a more realistic and terrifying shark on the screen.
Unlike many of the shark films out there, where you know pretty much who will be eaten, and don't really care, I will say that there was one character who bites (or is bitten) the big one, that I was actually disappointed to see chomped down.
I personally would have let that character live, and introduce a different character as fish fodder.
But that's just me.
How much quibbling am I really going to do about a B movie about killer sharks?
Worth a viewing if you like Shark Attack movies. If they aren't your cup of tea, you won't miss it.
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