47 METERS DOWN: UNCAGED (PG-13)
Released by Entertainment Studios
Review by Adam Mast
Not that anyone was begging for a sequel to the low budget shark thriller 47 METERS DOWN but here we are anyway. The good news is this follow up is far less monotonous and considerably more entertaining than its tepid predecessor. Furthermore, and I’ll probably take a substantial amount of heat for this, I actually preferred this to the summer sleeper hit, CRAWL as well. UNCAGED is every bit as silly but pound for pound, it offers up more scares and a greater sense of claustrophobia.
UNCAGED isn’t a sequel in the traditional sense. It simply follows an entirely new set of characters in a new location but the deadly situation these characters find themselves in is undeniably similar. In this case, the action takes place in Mexico and revolves around picked on Mia (Sophie Nélisse) and her half-sister Sasha (Corinne Foxx) as they engage in an underwater city ruins expedition with friends Alexa (Brianne Tju) and Nicole (Sistine Rose Stallone.) Of course, when they get down there, one bad happening leads to another and ultimately, these young women find themselves trapped in dark and murky shark-infested waters. Worse still, their tanks are quickly running out of oxygen. In order to make it out of a most dire set of circumstances, our fearless heroines will have to stick together and keep their wits about them.
Johannes Roberts returns to direct and co-write this follow-up and while the dialogue here leaves a lot to be desired, it’s safe to say very few moviegoers are going into this one for the Shakespearean wordplay. In terms of direction, it’s clear Roberts had a bigger budget to work with this time around so he sets out to make the most of the extra fundage. The scope is bigger. The sharks are bigger. And the cast is bigger.
Speaking of the cast, UNCAGED stars a sometimes wooden Nélisse as the often helpless Mia who is forced to come out of her shell in an effort to survive. Nélisse is supported by the offspring of two big-time A-listers in Foxx (daughter of Jamie) and Stallone (daughter of Sly.) Rounding out the lead players is t.v. actress Tju. All four of these women do a passable job with what they’ve been given to work with but again, it should be re-emphasized that this isn’t a script of great depth and rich characterizations. There are certainly moments that are laughable here, but at the very least, these actresses acquit themselves rather nicely when the action is doing the talking. Look no further than a sequence in which Stallone is asked to partake in what could be best described as a wink at her father’s epic 90’s actioneer, CLIFFHANGER.
As for scares and tension, a lot of it is nothing new, particularly if you’ve seen killer shark movies, but UNCAGED benefits from a fairly brisk pace and a manageable running time. And for the most part, save for a couple of craptastic CG shots, the blind albino great white sharks that populate the film look pretty good. Too bad Roberts didn’t go the 3D route with this stuff because it would have heightened the camp factor in all the right ways.
UNCAGED certainly won’t win any Oscars. There are moments that are dark to the point that it’s difficult to see what’s going on. In terms of tone, there are parts that are silly and other parts that are downright preposterous (watch for a sequence involving a flare.) Furthermore, one has to wonder if the same team that did all the underwater ADR for AQUAMAN was brought over to work on this because the dubbing is every bit as uninspired. The underwater dialogue sounds like it was recorded in a closet.
Obvious flaws aside, there’s a lot of fun to be had in this picture. From an effective jump scare that appears to have been plucked directly from Renny Harlin‘s all but forgotten genetically altered killer shark opus, DEEP BLUE SEA to an insanely ridiculous but oddly satisfying climax, UNCAGED plays like an underwater version of THE DESCENT. It isn’t close to being in the same league as that near-perfect Neil Marshall-directed monster movie, mind you, but at the end of the day, this one is definitely more entertaining than it probably had any right to be.
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