All in all, 47 Meters Down: Uncaged is a film I would recommend. It promotes the bond of sisterhood, which in this case is clearly thicker than blood, as well as courage. No one truly knows how strong they are until they go through something unimaginable and come out changed for the better. I loved the strength and quick thinking from these girls. They were the true definition of beauty and brains.
Although having enjoyed the original 47 Meters Down, I wasn't sat waiting for a sequel or anticipating that one with the daughters of Sylvester Stallone and Jamie Foxx would have me hooked until the end credits.
But after a slow start, that's exactly what happened.
Until you hit the water 47 Meters Down Uncaged doesn't get interesting, but when it finally does the claustrophobia and tension fills the air bubbles, literally until they pop.
I was hoping for The Descent with sharks and although it wasn't as tense as the Neil Marshall potholing horror [there's a phrase you don't hear every day] it did get me feeling all Matt Hooper in his cage.
Perhaps it was the long day at work and the need for some easy watching fodder, but I was I enjoying waiting for the shark to appear from the shadows of the cave not lit by torchlight. The stakes raised even further with the dive site and divers being compromised.
And its then through the swirls of confusion and sediment and silt that we first see the shark, and I'll admit I wanted to warn them.
As everyone wore masks it was kind of hard to figure out who was who, but then the confusion only added to the sort of reality of the situation. To aid this lots of character names were repeated ad infinitum - which was a tad annoying.
Of course, just when you think things can't get any worse they invariably do, cue cave entrance collapse sealing four young women with not just a shark, not just a great white shark, but a blind great white shark - by account of it having evolved in the cave system.
Full marks for them trying to do something new and different, it would be interesting to know if this was always designed to be part of this series or if it became 47 Meters Down Uncaged because it was easier to sell it with an established name.
Some of the lighting effects underwater were very effective and it added extra claustrophobia to have just oxygen mask breathing and no music. I watched it with subtitles on and I've never seen the caption - breathing anxiously - used more frequently.
There's at least one jumpy moment and the practical shark is always far better than any cgi attempt. In many ways it is comparable to Crawl, which was great until it just got a little bit silly.
With less of a ticking clock and more of a dwindling oxygen supply in ever decreasing percentages, if 47 Meters Down Uncaged wasn't a must see at the cinema, it's worth a viewing on Netflix whilst self isolating. Even if just for the Ben Gardner's head homage.
In the last act it is actually hard to figure out how anyone is actually going to get out alive. There are some clever and inventive flourishes that - in a film featuring dwindling oxygen - breathes some new energy into the shark thriller. I especially liked the red strobing sequence. Like it's somewhat forgetable protagonists, at time 47 Meters Down Uncaged will leave you breathless.
Bonkers ending, but you can't say they don't push the bigger boat out. And - in what is almost its own mini-film - it is that audacious it works. Just.
To paraphrase Quint, I'll never put on an oxygen tank again.
Interesting fact, it was filmed in the Dominican Republic, with underwater studio work taking place at the home of James Bond and in Basildon in Essex, ironically just miles from where I am writing this review.
In 47 METERS DOWN: UNCAGED, Mia [Sophie Nelisse] and Sasha [Corinne Foxx] are reluctant stepsisters, with Mia's father, Grant [John Corbett], married to Sasha's mother, Jennifer [Nia Long]. Grant has found an underwater cavern and is busy mapping it out, so when Mia and Sasha are booked on a glass-bottom boat tour, Sasha convinces Mia to run off with her two best friends, Alexa [Brianne Tju] and Nicole [Sistine Rose Stallone], instead. Since Alexa is dating Grant's assistant, she knows where the cave is and brings the girls there to swim. Discovering a shipment of scuba-diving equipment, they decide to go exploring. Unfortunately, hungry sharks appear, and the girls find themselves trapped, with their air tanks running out.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
- Families can talk about 47 Meters Down: Uncaged's violence. What's shown and not shown? How did it affect you?
- What's the appeal of scary movies? Why do people sometimes like to be scared?
- Why do you think so many people [and movies] are fascinated with sharks?
- How does the movie treat bullies? What are other ways of handling them?
Have you ever taken a dangerous risk? How did it turn out? Were the rewards worth it? Was there a lesson learned?