Was a sequel to 47 Meters Down necessary? There hasn’t been a decent shark film since 2016’s The Shallows, which starred Blake Lively trying to survive a shark all by herself. Two years ago, 47 Meters Down released and starred Mandy Moore and Claire Holt as two sisters who find themselves trapped at the bottom of the ocean with several great white sharks. The film featured a unique concept that was handled horribly and ended on a sour note. Now, a standalone sequel has arrived to offer a better concept with the same bad execution.
Johannes Roberts returns to write and direct this claustrophobic sequel, and the screenplay shares a lot in common with the first film. 47 Meters Down: Uncaged stars Sophie Nelisse, Corinne Foxx, Brianne Tju, Sistine Stallone, Davi Santos, Khylin Rhambo, Breck Bassinger, and John Corbett. Similar to the first film, the plot focuses on two sisters, but these sisters are having a hard time bonding after their parent’s recent marriage. What a better way to bond than by nearly being eaten alive by multiple sharks?
Struggling stepsisters Sasha (Foxx) and Mia (Nelisse) decide to go on a scuba diving adventure with their two friends to an underwater Mayan city. Once they reach a certain point in the caves, they realize they aren’t alone and are trapped with the deadliest ocean predator. Roberts and co-writer Ernest Riera put together some of the worst dialogue for these girls. For instance, upon entry into the cave, there is a back and forth between two of them where they make mention of butt sizes. It just comes across in a cringe way, and maybe that’s also because these girls aren’t the best actors. The screenplay doesn’t spend enough time building up the four main girls involved, it gets you acquainted and then it’s time to watch them die.
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47 Meters Down: Uncaged has a unique set design for the characters to swim around in, some of the sequences are very intense and the film does keep you on the edge of your seat. However, it’s amazing how in two years the CGI for the sharks has somehow gotten worse. 47 Meters Down: Uncaged may have been inspired by Neil Marshall’s The Descent (A better film) but it borrows more from its predecessor, which is why it fumbles. The performances are just so uninspired and not good at all, but for most of these girls, this is only their first or third film.
Roberts should focus on directing more and writing less, he has the potential to one day make a very well done film. Some of the film’s best shots are when the girls are captured with a shark swimming right behind them without their knowledge. Adding to that, there are a few instances of slow motion and it’s some of the worst slow-motion sequences since Jeepers Creepers 3. Luckily, the film’s end is a slight improvement over 47 Meters Down, but it’s more ridiculous than the last one. There is never a dull moment in 47 Meters Down: Uncaged but there isn’t a single thing to make you care about its characters or their survival. The score composed by musical duo tomandandy compliments the intense moments featured in the film, but to enjoy this movie you have to turn off your brain completely.
47 Meters Down: Uncaged won’t be included in the small list of shark films to watch repeatedly like Jaws, Open Water, or The Shallows. A movie that goes bigger in its concept, but doesn’t seem to properly execute it because it spends more time borrowing all of the mistakes from the last film, so much so that both films have the same runtime.
