Great White Puts 5 People In A Life Raft In Australia

“Great White” is a shark horror movie and it’s Australian-made. Therefore, Mother of Movies maintains the right to bias. Just kidding, I would never do that. The movie was filmed right near where I live, in Moreton Bay, Qld, well some of it anyway. At the very least, you are guaranteed some of the best shots of some of our amazing beaches. In addition, the cinematography is handled exceptionally well in that regard. There are some great low-angle shots, underwater scenes, and plenty of action. Shudder is showing the film exclusively from November 18th, 2021.

In addition, Mother of Movies secured a live interview with director Martin Wilson and you can watch that in a video at the end of the Great White movie review along with the trailer which runs afterward.

What I love about a story like Great White is that going in, you pretty much know what to expect beforehand. Most movies in this creature feature subgenre are formulaic. There is always a shark lurking somewhere that begins causing trouble behind the narrative. Characters are seldom fleshed out.

More often shark movies are not character-driven. Well, the mediocre ones aren’t. The people in the story need to be marooned somehow and of course, there needs to be a lot of water involved. It’s fun to figure out who is going to die first and if the guessing game is hard, the movie is doing a good job. Great White goes against this in some ways, bringing some of the characters to the forefront.

Great Shark Movies to Watch

Great White does a lot of things right, for a shark movie. I was excited when in the first quarter of the film, the seaplane they were on, went under and the remaining unlikely crew adjourned to a life raft. This meant there would be a waiting game on who would be the first to crack. Being isolated out in the middle of the ocean with sharks stalking you worked amazingly well in Open Water.

People in survival situations go bonkers in a short amount of time. And, I can get on board with that. Here, this was one of the highlights. Watching each character break in different ways was done well. The tension between Benny and Joji was a nice touch. Additionally, the relationship between Kaz and Charlie was solid and connecting.

The Reef, Jaws, Open Water & The Shallows

The Reef, Jaws, Open Water, and The Shallows all excelled in nail-biting goodness. This was due mainly because of the insipid plausibility of the situation. Great White ultimately fails in this area. The realism factor was stretched to the breaking point. While some of the closing scenes were amazing in the aesthetic of being largely underwater, I began to wonder how realistic the situation would be. I’m no shark expert though.

It’s easy to overlook things like the validity of how long a mobile phone will last or whether it’s wise to touch a dead body, but some of the other issues aren’t. The CGI, while not the worst I’ve seen was a little clumsy in places. The shark attacks themselves brought nothing new to the shark movie arena. And Charlie’s flashbacks were a touch heavy-handed.

Overall, though, Great White is at worst, reckless fun. At best, this new shark movie was certainly entertaining. In the pool of shark movies that are released every year, Great White is above average and comes highly recommended. I enjoyed it a lot.

In addition, don’t tell anyone but I’m a closet fan of “The Bold and the Beautiful”, and Katrina Bowden starring in Great White was a real treat for me.

I give Great White

3.5 Swimming for shore is the worst idea ever out of 5

Where to Watch Great White 2021

GREAT WHITE is available to buy on all major digital platforms including Apple and YouTube Movies from June 30, and on Blu-ray, DVD, and digital rental on July 7. Shudder drops GREAT WHITE exclusively on November 18th, 2021 in most countries.

Live Interview with Marty Wilson + Watch the Full Great White Movie Trailer

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• Directed by Martin Wilson / Written by Michael Boughen
• Great White cast: Katrina Bowden, Aaron Jakubenko, Te Kohe Tuhaka, Tim Kano, Kimie Tsukakoshi, Jason Wilder and Tatjana Marjanovic.
• Produced by Thrills and Spills and Altitude Media Group.