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With: Sara Paxton, Dustin Milligan, Joel David Moore, Donal Logue, Chris Carmack, Katharine McPhee, Chris Zylka, Alyssa Diaz, Sinqua Walls, Joshua Leonard
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Written by: Will Hayes, Jesse Studenberg
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Directed by: David R. Ellis
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MPAA Rating: PG-13 for violence and terror, disturbing images, sexual references, partial nudity, language and thematic material
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Running Time: 90
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Date: 08/31/2011
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Fin Number
By Jeffrey M. Anderson
Director -- and former stuntman -- David R. Ellis has previously helmed two of the Final Destination movies as well as Snakes on a Plane, so he has a good grasp on the entertainment of destruction, though perhaps not a very thoughtful one. Many movies about killer aquatic creatures on the loose have succeeded due to a lightweight, carefree mood, or an ironic tone; Shark Night 3D has none of this.
Uptight pre-med college student Nick (Dustin Milligan) is persuaded to spend a weekend partying with a group of friends, including the pretty, mysteriously distant Sara (Sara Paxton), at Sara's lake house. It's not long before one of the partygoers, Malik (Sinqua Walls), loses an arm to a shark attack. In their various efforts to get him to a doctor, some of the other young people likewise start turning into shark food. It turns out that the sharks' presence in the lake is no accident and it can be traced back to a former boyfriend of Sara's. Can the students solve the puzzle and get out of the water before it's too late?
The chemistry between the characters begins awkwardly and remains that way throughout. Very often their behavior does not justify or deserve a shark attack, and there's a kind of sour tone, especially given the third-act plot twists. The visual effects are perhaps more designed for 3D thrills than they are for realism. The sharks look blatantly digital, and the attacks are not particularly imaginative; the filmmakers clearly held back for a PG-13 rating, unlike last summer's truly outrageous Piranha 3D. Simply put, this "shark" has no bite.
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