47 Meters Down Review - Banal and Tatty shark infestation thriller

A still from 47 Meters Down Uncaged

47 Meters Down: Uncaged
U/A: Thriller, Action
Director: Johannes Roberts
Cast: Corinne Foxx, Sistine Stallone, Sophie Nelisse, John Corbett
Rating:

The original 47 Meters Down a sleeper hit that was originally destined to be a direct-to-video release, found theatrical life thanks to an enterprising, intrepid producer. The story about a pair of sisters (Mandy Moore and Claire Holt) on a boat tour, trapped in a cage,having close encounters with sharks is not much different from that of this sequel which has a few more of their careless, perilously inquisitive peers, exploring underwater caves and as expected, becoming fodder for blind hungry sharks.

Uncaged may not have a narrative connection to its predecessor - the sequel generics are mostly concentrated around a similar thematic set-up. Set in Mexico, the narrative follows Mia(Sophie Nelisse), an American girl who has recently moved to Mexico with her undersea explorer father (John Corbett), his new wife (Nia Long) and stepsister Sasha (Corinne Foxx, daughter of Jamie Foxx). Dad gets the two tickets for a glass-bottomed boat excursion but then Sasha's friends, Alexa (Brianne Tju) and Nicole (Sistine Stallone), lure then with a better idea and that's how they find themselves at the bottom of the sea fending off carnivorous sharks.

Check out the trailer of 47 Meters Down: Uncaged here:

This is no Jaws. The build-up is perfunctory and the by-the-numbers narrative spiel seems all too predictable and unpromising. The film is shot underwater for most of its short runtime so there's neither enough light nor much in the way of atmosphere to keep the interest going. The CGI sharks look like they are being prompted by mechanics and the close encounters designed to up the scare quotient, are more often than not, laughable. The dialogues are limited, the format is mostly explored- shark sighting- hyperventilate- seek a way out- fail and then repeat. Incidentally, the entryway gets blocked by an underwater quake fuelled by an angry shark and there's no way out, we are to presume - until the trapped girls find an opening too high to scale and then dive right back into the shark-infested waters. They, of course, get a top prize for foolishness. Stupidity reigns supreme here and only blind fans will find this unremarkable and senseless escapist fare enjoyable. There are no thrills and the tension is lost in the inanities. Totally avoidable!

Also Read: Director Johannes Roberts reveals about casting the young girls for 47 Meters Down Uncaged

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