47 Meters Down: Uncaged (2019)

Despite it being 54 years since JAWS, the original "shark" movie made movie history, we still get a regular supply of "shark" movies every year. Each one of these new movies invariably draws its inspiration from Jaws as that movie had made such a lasting impact. 47 Meters Down: Uncaged is the latest one to feature hungry man eating Great White Sharks. In fact, it is supposed to be a sequel (only in name) to 2017's surprise hit 47 Meters Down. Having the need to hijack another movie's name to help garner attention and interest is actually not a good sign. It's unimaginative sub-title "Uncaged" is not helping to project a good image either. In fact with a lame title like 47 Meters Down: Uncaged, one can be forgiven to dismiss this movie totally and perceive it to be another one of those low budget straight to video flic.

Happily, the saying "Don't judge a book by its cover" applies here, as Uncaged is a tight suspenseful 90 minutes thrill ride for fans of these "shark" genre. The creative opening shots sets the tone for the movie as it quickly introduces the usual giggling and skimpily dressed young girls and works on the plot to get them underwater before long. To the film's credit, at least half the entire movie takes place underwater! Indeed the camerawork for these underwater sequences were commendable and works really well in building the many nail biting sequences. Even though the characters are annoying, and we sort of care less if they survive or not, the young actresses nevertheless did a great and convincing job screaming and being tortured underwater! Actually I am not sure why this movie received so many negative comments from viewers and critics. I am not sure if they watched the same movie as I did or just that they have their opinions already predetermined and clouded by prejudice and negative perception based on its unknown cast and rather unfortunate title.

Watching this brought to mind another recent movie that falls under this genre, CRAWL which had better feedback. If we have to compare, I would however differ and say 47 Meters Down: Uncaged is definitely the better movie that has a far more complex shots and thrilling situations. I also liked the fact that the film makers avoided the use of too much dramatic Jaws like theme music to build the tension and instead let the great white sharks appear usually without warning. In fact the first time we actually see one of them was in a subtle manner, briefing appearing in the background without any noisy fanfare to create a cheap jump scare moment. It was a moment that you may miss if you had blinked. This shows the confidence of the film makers and their ability to bring on the scares without reliance on the usual tricks of the trade. They also managed to make this movie really scary and feel intense even thought it has a mild PG13 rating. Unlike last year's The MEG, which suffered from being too bloodless, this one at least does not shy away totally from this restraint and manages to push the boundaries of a PG13.

Uncaged will not be the last we see of these "shark" movies, and I look forward to what Hollywood has to offer for next year! Haters stay away and go watch something else ...