Originally written June 23, 2017

I feel like I can be a bit more forgiving on the quality of a movie if it at least has an original concept. Even if it didn’t execute its premise perfectly, at least it tried to do something new, and I can respect that. However, there are certain genres that are so oversaturated with many of the same type of movie or show. An example of this is the zombie genre. There are many zombie movies, shows, games, etc., but because there’s so many, only the really good ones shine through. These types of genres are held to a higher standard in a sense, because they really have to do something interesting with their concept. One of the biggest types of genres that’s oversaturated is the shark genre. There are TONS of shark movies out there, and so a shark movie really has to do something memorable to stand out from the crowd. 47 Meters Down is not one of those movies.

In 47 Meters Down, we follow two sisters on vacation. While there, they meet some guys who invite them out on their boat. These guys like to get their thrills, and so they have a cage on the boat that they use to go underwater and get a look at the sharks without fear of being attacked. After some hesitation, the girls agree to try it. They find themselves in danger when the cage detaches itself from the boat, and so they sink to the bottom of the ocean. With only a limited supply of oxygen and no clear way of getting back to the surface without being attacked by sharks, the girls must find a way to survive.

I think the concept of being trapped at the bottom of the ocean is at least interesting, but not enough to escape the cliches of the shark genre. As a critic, I don’t even really have any genuine advice on how to improve the movie. I do believe that you can make a good movie out of anything, but if you don’t find a way to make it interesting enough to set it apart, then it’s going to be forgotten. I didn’t truly hate 47 Meters Down or anything like that, and it’s honestly better than many other shark movies, but it still just doesn’t have anything going for it that makes it stand out. I guarantee that I’ll forget about this movie in due time. You can definitely pass on this one.

2/5