It feels like we repeatedly hear the same claim every single year. “Best shark movie since Jaws!” flashes across the screen during the trailer of what is seemingly an annual release of the shark vs. human formula. I saw it with The Shallows, 47 Meters Down, The Meg, and now Great White.
At this point, I feel like audiences don’t care if it’s as good as Jaws. Jaws was an accidental masterpiece. We just want a good film, and I hoped to get that with Great White.
Great White, an Australian creature feature directed by Martin Wilson and written by Michael Boughen, follows Kaz (Katrina Bowden) and Charlie (Aaron Jakubenko), a couple financially struggling who run a seaplane holiday tour business off the coast of Australia. Hired by Michelle (Kimie Tsukakoshi) and Joji (Tim Kano) to tour the area, have lunch, and spread Michelle’s grandfather’s ashes, the group comes across a sunken boat and checks for survivors.
A ferocious great white shark immediately attacks them, and they must survive days at sea in a flimsy life raft while being stalked by several large predators.
Okay, so it’s not the most original plotline, but I’ve seen worse in these types of shark movies. The film starts nicely, with some beautiful environmental flyover shots and character building. It is easy to relate with Kaz and Charlie, as they don’t have everything figured out for their future but use their love as the base to take on whatever challenges come.
Katrina Bowden (Tucker and Dale vs Evil, Piranha 3DD) was particularly convincing. Although most of the acting was done well throughout the film, her performance stood out the most.
This film takes a hard turn towards the bottom when the sharks appear. The group’s seaplane is attacked in Jaws: The Revenge fashion, and they must retreat to a life raft for the rest of the film. At this point, I’m to believe this shark can take down an entire plane to get to these people, but it doesn’t just munch this raft and swallow its tasty bits immediately. Seems like a weird shark flex.
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The CG used on the sharks was extremely volatile. Most of it looked okay using underwater shots and at night. The day shots were choppy and low-budget. Toward the end of the film, it looked like a large shark animatronic was used, which was great. I just wish it had been used more.
Oh, and another throwback to the worst Jaws sequel: the sharks roar in this. Sharks do not roar. They don’t have vocal cords. Filmmakers, please stop putting roaring sharks in your serious shark films. Even the genetically-altered monster sharks in Deep Blue Sea didn’t roar.
From there on out, the story just kind of trudges along. The group is stuck in the raft and periodically argues and fights for no real reason outside of general lost-at-sea frustration, which also leads to multiple party members being thrown in the water and eaten. The pacing difference between the start of the film and the rest of it was so dissonant that I found myself just wanting the characters to hurry up and be eaten already, even the ones I liked.
Unfortunately, Great White doesn’t claim the mantle for “best shark movie since Jaws.” You may ask yourself, “well…what is then?” and the answer is quite simple. It’s Jaws 2.
The film is now available in select theaters and VOD and will later head to Shudder.