Shark Hunter

People, seriously, you can't go watching a direct-to-video movie like this expecting material worthy of an Oscar, okay? You just can't come on here, slap it with a 2/10 rating just saying it was the worst movie ever. You don't go looking for plot holes in a virtually plot less movie. You just don't go complaining about under-developed characters or implausible events in a movie like this. This movie is about a Megalodon, which is a giant prehistoric monster-shark. So lighten up, folks. If you don't know what to expect from a movie like this, than you clearly haven't seen enough of them yet. So lower your standards and try to see it for what it really is. SHARK HUNTER (which is a very awful title in general and even a rather inappropriate one for this movie in particular) is in the same league as many of those recent underwater CGI sci-fi/horror/action quickies we've come to know recently (DEEP SHOCK, MEGALODON, OCTOPUS…). And it's even a bit in the same vein as those lovable 80's gems, like LEVIATHAN and DEEPSTAR SIX (albeit not on par with those), with the only difference that instead of some unknown mutating monster, it now features a… Megalodon.

The set-up to the story is negligible. They use the opening-sequence to provide Antonio Sabato Jr.'s character traumatic background (yes, the dude's clearly still active in motion pictures): He saw his parents attacked and killed by a Megalodon (anyone seen the recent KRAKEN: TENTACLES OF THE DEEP? – they did the exact same thing in that one too). Then we learn that Antonio designed and built a complete submarine, but isn't allowed to play with it anymore by his superiors. He sobs and nags about it until an underwater research facility is destroyed by our over-sized granddaddy shark. So Antonio finally gets his chance to go underwater sailing again. And thus we quickly get to what this movie is all about: A crew, trapped in the claustrophobic setting of a submarine, which priority quickly shifts from capturing the Megalodon to eventually trying to kill it. Now let's rate it for what it is, because it is that and nothing more.

The crew constantly battling the shark and the shark constantly damaging the sub (and even infiltrating it in one scene) are mildly entertaining events as far as that goes. The Megalodon vs. the mini-sub was fun too (although scenes like these are always inevitable in flicks of this kind). The underwater CGI (both of the machines and the Megalodon) were surprisingly good (they wisely decided to use a lot of shadows to hide all too obvious CGI). A tad bit better even than what you'd expect from a movie like this. They apparently used their little budget to the fullest and hired capable set designers to built the convincing, nice-looking interior sets of the submarine (although I admit, it looks pretty small inside if you compare all that to the exterior CGI shots of the sub). The acting even wasn't too bad, and Grand L. Bush (as Harrington) quickly became my favorite crew-member. Not only did he come across as the most talented actor of the whole cast, he also has the best lines of the movie. My summary-line of this comment is one of them (nice nod to Spielberg's JAWS, of course) but he's got more to say. The "Bambi vs. Godzilla" line and calling the Megalodon "a goddamn train with teeth" was funny, and you should see him during that whole "Stay out of my torpedo room"-conversation with Antonio (especially the look on his face when he says "Big f***ing deal."). That man really should move on to do bigger pictures.

But what really made sitting through this movie all worthwhile was… the ending. You've seen this type of movies a zillion times before and you just know how it's going to end, right? Well think again, because what happens near the end earns this movie a whole big extra point. I for one sure didn't see this one coming.

In the wake of the surprise success "Deep Blue Sea" (1999), which is still well worth seeing, this less ambitious follow-up was made in inexpensive Bulgaria.

Antonio Sabato Jr. Goes on the hunt for the legendary ancient shark Megalodon with a motley crew. The young, dynamic marine researcher (Sabato Jr. With long hair like the ones nerds wore at the turn of the millennium) carries a traumatic childhood experience with him and, despite all the difficulties, can now face the final battle with the monstrous primal fish .

As a former underwear model, Antonio Sabato Jr. Of course, he sometimes takes off his shirt and shows off his abdominal muscles, but he doesn't achieve the charisma of his father Antonio Sabato (GOLDEN GLOBE nomination in 1967 for GRAND PRIX).

The megalodon has more charisma, as it can bare its teeth in a fearsome manner. The rest of the crew consists of Christian Toulali, Grand L. Bush and the very blonde Heather Marie Marsden, none of whom rise above stereotypical portrayals.

You can watch it if you like shark horror!

Having switched over to late night Sky Movies, I thought this was just going to be another rubbishy clone movie that I could switch my brain off to, then it turned out to be the completely opposite. The tense bits were tense, the special effects were very good for a "hmm, never saw 'that' one at the movies" movie, and the acting was OK. My only complaints with it were plot wise, the crew seemed to very quickly jump into plan to capture a giant monster that none of them believed existed in the first place, and the investigation of the research centre to which they were sent to 'investigate', encompassed nothing more than cursory glance and the extraction of a Shark tooth from the side of a wall. The ending was also a bit, well... unsatisfactory. Other than that, it held my attention and is a very worthy "Aaah, giant Shark" movie.

I saw this in the video store, placed right next to "Shark Attack III," which also deals with a Megalodon. I'm a big fan of Megs, having read Steve Alten's book "Meg" and the sequel. Although I had read the horrible reviews on Shark Attack II and seen the first Shark Attack movie, and imagined it would be as god awful as those. I was actually pretty surprised. Despite Antonio Sabato Jr in the lead role, the acting was fairly decent for this type of movie. The special effects were very well done, and the shark was very realistic, along with the sub. The plot was pretty typical of some of the TBS-made movies you see a lot of, but I rented it more for the action.

I had read some decent reviews of this movie and decided to give it a try. I was pleasantly surprised. The scenes with the shark were realistic and there was a lot of action. The ending to the film could have been more upbeat, but overall it was fairly entertaining.

The better of the giant Shark films. Compared to Megalodon (2002) and Shark Attack 3: Megalodon (2002), Shark Hunter is almost Oscar material when it comes to acting and script. Although it suffers with a low budget and shamelessly borrows elements from Steve Alten's novel 'Meg' it's the closet thing you'll get to an attempted prehistoric shark film.

The pacing and editing are a little awry but some of the practical and special effects are well executed.

Die Hard actor Grand L. Bush and hammy Antonio Sabato Jr. for the most part are watchable. Director Matt Codd is wise to hide to shark in the shadows and considering it was made in 2001 the SPFX are adequate. The music score is worthy of note and it has a nihilistic element that breaks the b-film mould with and ending that refreshingly going against the norm.

Overall, it's far from great but the best Megalodon film to date.