Review | 47 Meters Down: Uncaged film review – shark thriller sequel is unimaginative and nonsensical
- From early on, this chase-and-chomp movie goes straight for the kill, with frantic shark action punctuated by pauses of frenetic terror
- But the four characters involved are wafer thin and the story line just beggars belief
2/5 stars
Like the original 47 Meters Down from 2017, this nominal sequel draws heavily on the straight-to-video shockers of the 1980s for inspiration. But whereas the original took at least a bit of time to engage viewers with the young characters, 47 Meters Down: Uncaged just goes straight for the kill.
After a brief prelude to introduce who’s who, the camera dives underwater and stays there for pretty much the whole film, delivering non-stop scenes of frantic shark action punctuated by pauses of frenetic terror. Non-stop action can be fun, but as the four characters are wafer thin and completely interchangeable, the new film is a lot less enjoyable than it could have been.
The title sums up the level of the filmmaking. In 47 Meters Down, the girls were trapped in a diving cage which was menaced by a big shark. In Uncaged, the girls are menaced by a big shark – but this time they are swimming around “uncaged”. The title was probably chosen because it has a salacious ring of a lurid B-movie to it – although there’s nothing at all salacious about the film itself.
The story takes place in the Yucatan in Mexico (although it was actually shot in the Dominican Republic), once the home of the Mayan civilisation. After hearing about a pristine rock pool in the jungle, four teenage girls secretly arrange an unofficial scuba diving trip to get away from their parents.