The Shallows (2016), PG-13, ★★1/2

Blake Lively in a bikini with a flare gun? I'm in. 

How many good shark movies are out there? Only one, maybe two. Jaws is a masterpiece with three interesting characters and pacing that suits the thriller aspects with the shark pursuing both the innocent bystanders on the ocean and the three fishermen. A case can be made with Deep Blue Sea as it is a ridiculous movie but a guilty pleasure. But, I have to re-watch that movie because it has been a while since that time. People keep asking: when is the next Jaws movie? Is this the next movie for our generation? I can answer both of them and say "No. However, you're probably will have a good time when it comes out on cable or just streaming it."

Medical student dropout Nancy Adams (Blake Lively) is headed towards the beach, which was her mother's favorite spot before she passed away from cancer, for a personal vacation. She is driven there by a man named Carlos (Oscar Jaenada). She was going to go on the trip with her best friend but priorities came about and Nancy goes all by herself. Later, Nancy has a video chat with her sister, Chloe (Sedona Legge), to tell her all about the beach and how it is defined "paradise". (Funny enough the name of the beach or the island does not have a name.)

Nancy swims out to the shallows of the ocean to catch some waves. As she gets further away from the shore, she sees a whale carcass floating up top. Nancy gets knocked off the board by a shark and while trying to paddle back to the shore, the shark bites deep into her left leg, spilling blood all over the water. Nancy struggles and swims to a rock so a shark will not reach her. She uses a tourniquet to stop the bleeding and after calling the two surfers on the shore, they cannot hear or see her. She is trapped. This will be a challenge.

Oh no! 

This is well-constructed movie that supports the tantalizing suspense on the edge. It creates so much tension. However, I did not feel the level of excitement or charisma from the material and Lively's character. I felt that this movie was a bit too self-serious in the reason why she comes in for a personal vacation before the main plot "swims" onto the shore. When she comes onto the rock and buoy, the suspense is taut and well-done as she brings in logic to the problem as to how long it will take for her to swim from the rock to the buoy and why it will not work at the time. It's solid.

Now, here comes the main problem: the shark. The shark creates so much camp and CGI-nightmarish effects that sort of took me out of the movie and looked like a Syfy Original movie not at the level of Sharknado but close to it. This movie made me appreciate Jaws more because his shark fin creates so much suspense without revealing the face and it was still exciting. There was some suspense because it was about at close range but when revealed, the suspense level disintegrates a bit.

I think Blake Lively gave a good performance in this movie as we root her on with her bikini on, jumpsuit on and a flare gun that will kick the shark's butt in the climax, which was exciting. Director Jaume Collet-Serra has made three good Liam Neeson movies: Unknown, Nonstop and Run All Night. He knows what the central audience wants. He does know what they want here but unfortunately, I tried to have as much summer popcorn fun with this movie but the lack of motivation is what allowed me to encourage people to wait for the movie to be available on Redbox, Amazon Prime, cable, etc. It is a short movie so it will be worth it to wait and kick back and try to have fun.

**1/2

This is just a hilarious clip.