In "47 Metres Down", two sisters descend into a shark cage that falls to the bottom of the ocean floor when its cable breaks, forcing them to defeat the odds in a race against time to get to the surface despite the sharks trolling through the area before their air runs out. They encounter obstacles, panic, discover that rescue-saving attempts that were supposed to go off smoothly never do when there are 20-foot Great Whites involved, and meanwhile their air slowly but surely gets used up as they desperately attempt to be rescued.
It sounds exciting on paper. The trailer even managed to be somewhat exciting. In reality, the film's paper-thin plot simply doesn't offer up enough creative ingenuity to sustain its running time. Everything you expect to go wrong does. Nine times out of ten, if you think something is about to happen, it probably does. That's because the film feels all-too-familiar, even if it is the first one to have this plot specifically. It's simply a variation on a type, and as such we already know what to expect.
There really isn't a whole lot going on in "47 Metres Down." Mandy Moore and her costar manage to be just capable enough given the material, but their acting really isn't the point here. Nothing really is, beyond the supposed chills and thrills we were promised, which come all to predictably and much too sparingly. The film is a humdrum affair through and through.
What elevates it above one star is its ending, which manages to leave a more lasting impression than its previous 90 minutes. Had the film maintained the tone of its ending throughout, no doubt this could have been a much more interesting affair.
It sounds exciting on paper. The trailer even managed to be somewhat exciting. In reality, the film's paper-thin plot simply doesn't offer up enough creative ingenuity to sustain its running time. Everything you expect to go wrong does. Nine times out of ten, if you think something is about to happen, it probably does. That's because the film feels all-too-familiar, even if it is the first one to have this plot specifically. It's simply a variation on a type, and as such we already know what to expect.
There really isn't a whole lot going on in "47 Metres Down." Mandy Moore and her costar manage to be just capable enough given the material, but their acting really isn't the point here. Nothing really is, beyond the supposed chills and thrills we were promised, which come all to predictably and much too sparingly. The film is a humdrum affair through and through.
What elevates it above one star is its ending, which manages to leave a more lasting impression than its previous 90 minutes. Had the film maintained the tone of its ending throughout, no doubt this could have been a much more interesting affair.