Sharks on film have been big bucks ever since Steven Spielberg made that little film called Jaws. Since then we’ve seen sharks of all shapes and sizes transplanted into all kinds of weird and wild scenarios. The sub-genre shows no signs of stopping anytime soon with new film Great White being the latest to hit the DVD shelves. Sticking away from the super intelligent sharks of Deep Blue Sea, or the wacky Sharknado ones, Great White pits man and woman against the ancient creatures in a battle of survival.
Things start out happily with Charlie (Aaron Jakubenko) and Kaz’ (Katrina Bowden) seaplane business booking a big client. They, along with their chef Benny (Te Kohe Tuhaka), take high-powered couple Joji (Tim Kano) and Michelle (Kimie Tsukakoshi) to a secluded island (that harbors its own dark secret) for a relaxing afternoon in the sun. The fun doesn’t last long though as they uncover the remains of a shark attack victim. Realising that the victim wasn’t alone, the group set out to find its companion, but disaster strikes when they find themselves marooned in the water. Worse still, they aren’t alone; a vicious shark begins circling them, a shark with a hunger for human flesh.
No matter how many shark films get made, viewers keep on going back for more and in Great White we have an entertaining thrill-ride. From the opening moment we get sharks across the screen, and those with a latent fear of the sea will get no reassurance here. Even when the sharks cannot be seen and our quintet are adrift in the ocean, you can feel their presence lurking in the shadows. Add to that the claustrophobic size of the safety vessel the group find themselves adrift in, as well as the sheer vastness of water surrounding them, and you have the perfect cocktail to make you never want to set foot in the ocean again.
The issue that Great White has is that its ‘villain’ is actually the most sensible of the group. In any other story they would likely be the final one standing, but in Great White they are shoe-horned into the role of bad guy. From early on, Joji is painted as the baddie, yet the circumstances that lead to this are entirely understandable. Firstly, he doesn’t approve of the fact that ship cook Benny is openly leering at his wife. Secondly, upon discovery of the body, he suggests that they let the coastguard (who are on their way) deal with finding the victim’s missing partner. It’s a sensible proposal, but one that is made to appear treacherous. These two moments are progressively worked up into being presented something way worse than they necessarily should be. It jars further still as Joji is played by ex-Neighbours star Tim Kano. Kano played Leo Tanaka in the series, and whilst he demonstrates the occasional flair as a bad boy (he was the son of Paul Robinson after all), playing a villain here feels wrong, especially when Joji isn’t the typical movie villain.
Shark films are either hit or miss, 47 Metres Down for example was a great tale of extreme peril. It’s sequel 47 Metres Down: Uncaged however, was not great, squandering all the good work done in the original. Great White thankfully has more in common with the former, working as an effective survival thriller. There are the inevitable leaps of logic that so many of these movies suffer from, but there’s enough substance beneath the surface to keep the film afloat.
Great White is released on DVD from Monday 17th May 2021.
Great White
Summary
A claustrophobic sea-set survival drama, with added sharks, that’ll make you think twice before stepping into the water again.
