No Way Up, Sharks On A Plane With A Crash Landing

Most people who love films love shark movies. Mother of Movies is a big fan. From cult classic horror like Jaws, Deep Blue Sea, The Shallows, and Open Water to new favorites like 47 Meters Down, The Reef, and Uncaged. No Way Up was released on February 16th. 2024 and distributed by RLJE Films. The poster for the No Way Up shark film cited executive producers from the 47 Meters series. Despite a sinking feeling that citing where the money came from is often the sign of a poor quality cinematic experience, the advertised poster said that I should also “brace myself.” And so I did.

Writer Andy Mayson has come from producing some cool flicks that I like such as the Let Me In remake and Guns Akimbo to write for the first time and create a loosely fitting story. It follows and I quote “characters from different backgrounds” aboard a plane that crashes into the ocean. Along for the ride is director Claudio Fäh perhaps known as someone who can stretch a budget to its very limits, he has spat out pearlers like the Wilder TV Series, the Sniper movies series, and Nothmen: A Viking Saga.

No Way Up 2024

Jed and Ava board the doomed aircraft alongside a bodyguard sent by her well-known father. A young girl, Rosa, and her grandparents Mardy and Hank are tied into the No Way Up storyline to Ava who finds her lost teddy bear at the airport. A guy called Kyle is also introduced after being stood up by his girlfriend. Once at the halfway point to the bottom of the ocean, these are the players left stranded. Add to the list a flight attendant called Danillo who doesn’t give a good impression of one.

“Why is the plane so empty?”

“Because it’s really old.”

Quote from No Way Up movie

So let’s break it down. No Way Up is a barrage of movie cliches ripped straight out of a bunch of movies that did it better. It all starts with sharks that are too big for the holes they are swimming into and quickly descend into the last of the surviving aircraft passengers needing to enter the part of the plane that is underwater. Unfortunately, this part of the plane is where the giant fishes of the deep are all waiting. Or one of them is waiting. We will never know because it’s entirely irrelevant.

What is relevant is that this small group of uninteresting and poorly developed characters are all going to die if they can’t at least try to escape. Nanna is an ex-Iraq war nurse though and comes out swinging with the only form of first aid for the hapless survivors. She quickly resets a broken arm early on with the panache of a war medic. Danillo the flight attendant never comes in handy with anything remotely helpful.

We are fed a microdose character arc for every situation. The No Way Up movie could be described as a sedate conversational drama with small doses of offscreen shark attacks. So let’s talk about the shark attacks. Effects-wise, the sharks are not the stars of the movie. Generally seen swimming in the background for most of the runtime, the shark attacks that happen are light on blood even in the aftermath. A CGI-fueled kill scene in the latter half is not the worst I’ve ever seen, however, it’s certainly not the best either.

No Way Up Movie Review

Sharks on a plane have been done before (hello, Sharnado) and the movie-going population was all on board for No Way Up. A dumb fun premise partially ruined by the cheap thrills it delivers and the boring characters it shoves into an imaginary airpocket that lasts the duration of the movie. Listening to a group of adults hinge their escape mission onto a ten-year-old’s theory that sharks don’t like bubbles was hard to buy into. Especially when you’re trying to create an intense moment but all your cast members have to say “bubbles” over and over again. Combined with a plan of “maybe the other air tank is down there” cemented no faith in anything that was happening on screen.

My favorite kill scene was the one where Jed imitates being killed before being sucked underwater by a shark. The resulting screams sounded like a rendition of Chewbacca sound clips and the unintentional comedic dialogue as war vet Nanna springs into action was the funniest thing I’ve watched in a while.

“What happened to my foot?”

Quote from No Way Up 2024

No Way Up is rated

1 Teddy didn’t deserve to go out like that out of 5

Watch the No Way Up trailer and decide if you want to watch this film yourself. The title was released in theatres and as a rental on February 16th, 2024.

No Way Up Trailer

• Director: Claudio Fäh
• Writer: Andy Mayson
• Cast: Sophie McIntosh, Will Attenborough, Jeremias Amoore, Manuel Pacific, Grace Nettle, Phyllis Logan, and Colm Meaney
• Imbd.com cites the film as a drama, adventure, and action genre movie.
• Language: English
• Run Time: 90 Mins