Shark Bait

Well, I have to admit that I was initially expecting the 2022 thriller "Shark Bait" (aka "Jetski") to be just another generic shark movie. But truth be told, I am a sucker for shark movies, so of course I had to watch what writer Nick Saltrese had to offer here.

"Shark Bait" started out a bit slow and seemed to be a rather generic shark movie. You know, the kind where a group of youngsters get a bit too precarious and go up against Mother Nature. And yeah, it was also true here to some extend, and the young people get marooned far out in the open sea, and then a shark enters the frame.

Writer Nick Saltrese actually managed to churn "Shark Bait" into more than just a run-of-the-mill shark movie. And by that I mean that it was actually an entertaining and enjoyable movie. Sure, the storyline here was generic to the core, not to mention predictable as well, and was essentially something that has been seen many, many times before in other shark movies. And yeah, it is one of those movies where the shark keeps stalking the protagonists and linger around for way longer than it should or would, just to get to chomp on the protagonists one by one. Makes zero sense, but it was entertaining.

I wasn't familiar with the cast ensemble that were in "Shark Bait", but they actually put on good enough performances here. Sure, "Shark Bait" is not Shakespearian storytelling, but you get my drift.

Visually then "Shark Bait" was actually good. Lots of blood and enough visceral gore to keep a seasoned gorehound such as myself happy. And as a shark movie, then having blood and believable effects is a must. And yeah, even the shark was realistic here, and that counts for a lot in these types of movies.

I was genuinely entertained by what director James Nunn delivered with "Shark Bait", and it is a shark movie that is well-worth sitting down to watch if you like shark movies.

My rating of "Shark Bait" lands on a six out of ten stars.

I know the people in these movies have to be unsympathetic douchenozzles so the audience enjoys them being massacred, but this one really overdoes it. I was siding with the shark two minutes into the film, and it took half an hour before it even showed its fin.

After that, it's just a couple of people being dragged under the surface and some underwater scenes that are so dark you barely see anything. Way too little, way too late.

Here's another shark attack thriller by James Nunn, the director who has made at least two great films previously, namely TOWER BLOCK and ONE SHOT. Sadly, this is a much lesser quality production, although his direction's fine; it's the script and story which are at fault here. There's very little that's novel or interesting about the group of characters who get stranded out at sea after a violent accident on the waves. The SFX are pretty decent and the pacing isn't bad at all given the budget, but when all of the characters are so unlikeable it's the kind of film that's tough to sit through without getting a little bored.

Two minutes into the movie, I was already rooting for the shark. Overall, though, it was an entertaining movie (more of a guilty pleasure).

The acting and filming was very well done, setting this apart from the typical B movie. The film was visually and audibly stimulating. I felt like the film whisked the viewer to a vacation isle, then out to a vast, lonely, dangerous ocean.

And there were a couple of attack and wound scenes that made me cringe. Well done. The poor guy with the leg wound. Ow.

Of course, the characters were some of the most obnoxious and morally corrupt college kids ever portrayed. Only one had an ounce of common sense, which often came too late. As long as you cheer for the shark, you should have a jolly time with this film.

It's not a great film but compared to recent efforts it's not that bad either. The shark footage is acceptable, as is the acting, and the film moves along at a good pace. This isn't a film you would watch more than once, but it's still quite entertaining - I wasn't bored by it.