Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		5.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		4.0

The Shallows Blu-ray Movie Review

Forget a bigger boat. She'll take a dinghy if it'll save her life.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman September 26, 2016

There will probably never be a better shark movie than Jaws, Director Steven Spielberg's acclaimed and beloved 1975 film that famously made people "afraid to go into the water." Others haven't necessarily tried to top it, but many have tried to duplicate its essence. From silly creature films to inspirational tales of survival, the "Shark" genre may not be a prolific turnstile breadwinner for studios, but it's something of a mainstay in popular culture and always, seemingly, a popular draw when one is released. The Shallows may very well be the best Shark film since Jaws, essentially transforming 127 Hours into a movie about a wounded girl trying to survive with a deadly shark encircling her one and only watery refuge. It's well done, emotionally impacting, and very absorbing, a testament to the power of simple storytelling that gets down to the very essence of humanity, life, and death.

Hunter and prey.

Medical student Nancy (Blake Lively) has traveled to Mexico to surf the same waters her late mother visited while she was pregnant with her. She catches a ride out to the beach from an agreeable local and finds herself out on her own when her friend stays behind after a night of partying too hard. She hits the waves and finds solace and satisfaction in the water, but she makes a potentially fatal mistake when she wades back out for one more run before heading back to the hotel. She finds a dead whale a little ways out and soon, its killer: a large, hungry shark bent on feeding on everything in the water. She's bitten in the leg, tearing open a large gash of her flesh. She manages to reach a rocky formation and find temporary safety, but the shark isn't about to let its meal slip away after a respite. It circles her rock, leaving her wounded, tired, and with no avenue of escape.

The Shallows gets quick to the point, crafting enough character construction to mean something and having a bit of fun in the water before things turn south for Nancy and her fight for survival begins. Character development can be a bit cliché -- she lost her mother and she's returning to a beach that meant something to her -- but Director Jaume Collet-Serra and Writer Anthony Jaswinski handle it with care, building on simple, tangible themes and human emotion not just to elicit a response from the audience, but to have Nancy's fight for survival mean something to her and to the viewer. Sure it's cliché, but it's representative of real life. The film tackles core emotions that don't necessarily drive her survival instinct but at least add another layer to it, culminating in a simple and well done moment about an hour into the movie that gets to the very heart of humanity, life, and death. Indeed, the film blends simple emotional content with visceral and nail-biting moments of intensity and survival very well, but it's in those other moments that fill most of the movie where The Shallows truly shines.

The film draws plenty of intensity from the slow-burn waiting game where it spends the majority of its time. Beyond the cheerful and character establishing open and several moments of high intensity frights, The Shallows mostly invests in Nancy and her plight, as much her emotional state as her physical deterioration. That underlying fear of uncertainty only elicits a deeper emotional response as her window for survival begins to erode, whether due to her failing health or the coming of the high tide. The movie is very well made on all fronts, with Blake Lively masterfully maneuvering through the part's physical and emotional demands alike. She explores that foundational essence of her being to satisfaction and builds on it as she rests and recovers and tries to figure out how -- if -- she's going to survive her ordeal. Her ability to blend the two -- to find that inner center of her soul while realistically portraying a wounded, fearful individual whose hope for survival rests more on her ability to focus and stay positive than anything else -- elevates the movie well beyond its superficial simplicities. Director Jaume Collet-Serra (Non-Stop) captures the intricacies of her performance with a knowing eye for contrast and juxtaposition, enhancing her performance with a blend of intimate photography and sweeping vistas which not only capture the beauty of the environment but its perils, too. This is a complete movie, certainly not a classic but a fine example of well-made, strongly performed, and engrossing cinematic storytelling. It's too bad more movies aren't like this.

The Shallows Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Shallows features a gorgeous 1080p transfer, defined primarily by its tropical green and blue colors. The digital image sparkles, appearing a bit flat as the format tends towards but nevertheless revealing a breathtakingly punchy palette that saturates the screen with lush aquatic blues and vegetation greens that leap off the screen under the bright sunshine exterior lighting. Additional support shades, like red blood, are well saturated and vibrant, too. Detail is very strong, particularly sandy beaches and rocky formations which, in this movie, reveals both jagged, uneven, natural edges as well as smoother spots of erosion from many, many years in the water. Skin textures are excellent in close-up, showcasing basic pores but also finding the nitty-gritty details of Nancy's terrible leg wound and the signs of her deteriorating condition, like chapped lips. The image produces natural skin tones and black levels that aren't prone to any problems. Source noise is a non-factor and compression artifacts are nowhere to be found. This is a masterful presentation of an inherently gorgeous movie from Sony.

The Shallows Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Shallows arrives on Blu-ray with a nicely performing DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. It's solid all-around from music to ambient effects, from heavy action sounds to basic dialogue. Instrumental score is clear and well defined, enjoying easy spacing throughout the stage, mostly in a front-dominant posture but enjoying well integrated surround and low end information, too. Things get a little more aggressive during an edgier Pop/Rock song that plays during a surfing montage early in the film. Action scenes leave little to the imagination, with heavy crashing waves saturating the stage and putting enough sonic muscle behind the shark to really get a feel for its weight and aggression during attacks. Lighter atmospherics around the beach and casually wavy water out beyond are effortlessly realistic. Dialogue is clear, well prioritized, and consistently placed in the front-center, whether basic back-and-forth discussions or screams for help.

The Shallows Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The Shallows contains three deleted scenes and several featurettes. A UV digital copy code is included with purchase.

• Deleted Scenes (1080p): Chloe Sees the Shark (1:36), Call for Help (2:16), and A Conversation with Seagull (1:09).
• Shooting in the Shallows (1080p, 5:57): A discussion of the challenges inherent to making this movie, with emphasis on making a movie in the water, Blake Lively's physical preparations for the part, and the differences of shooting on location and on a stage.
• When Sharks Attack (1080p, 7:34): A real-life shark attack survivor recounts his experiences while experts discuss the realities of shark attacks.
• How to Build a Shark (1080p, 6:56): A look at the thought process that went into designing the shark, and moving from concept art to practical models and digital creations.
• Finding the Perfect Beach: Lord Howe Island (1080p, 6:01): As the title suggests, this piece looks closely at the primary shooting location, including how it enhances the movie and the challenges it posed.
• Previews: Additional Sony titles.

The Shallows Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Shallows is just a really good movie. It's slickly made but never feels so, capturing a gritty essence of danger and soulful presentation of the human spirit. With a great led performance, excellent construction, a terrific pace, and classic edge-of-seat intensity, the film serves as a reminder of cinema's ability to lure in an audience and take it on a journey of both peril and triumph. Sony's Blu-ray release of The Shallows delivers excellent video and audio. Supplements include several deleted scenes and four featurettes. Very highly recommended.