325, The Devil's Mouth

Who doesn't love a good shark film, and it's fair to say the movie industry does like to use these apex predators as a regular protagonist in many a repetitive outing.

Unlike Jaws or the Meg - The Devil's Mouth focusses on a standard issue Bull Shark as the hunter, trapped inside a fresh water network of caves (one of which is called The Devils Mouth) who comes face to face with five, early 20'ish gorgeous friends who on ego's and smiles, manage to convince a tour guide to take them through an intense path of sunken caverns as they all partake in a Summer of fun in Thailand before settling down into adult life.

The movie starts innocently enough - the 3 girl / 2 guy combo seem to have it all with yacht trips and bottomless booze fuelled excursions until one of them gets left behind in open water, only to get attacked by a bloom of Jellyfish and that's where the 'trust' issues start as although saved this time around - cracks in the group start to show early on.

From the outset - once they get into the caves, our overly eager, intrepid, yet slightly deluded main cast - along with the tour guide, who for me was the only really recognisable face (Tayme Thapthimthong - White Lotus / John Rambo) and a lone diver are the only real cast and just like a teen slasher horror, it's just a case of picking them off one by one until either someone gets out - or they all perish.

The main cast - who are probably more recognisable to a slightly younger audience than myself do relatively well in this, working in a intensely claustrophobic environment for most of the film which adds an real edgy element to the hunt as the shark itself gets very little screen time.

It has a similar edge of the seat style anxiety to The Shallows (Blake Lively - 2016), albeit no where near as good overall and our leading ladies (the males are pretty useless to be fair!) flip from sheer fear to almost G.I Joe like intensity in the blink of an eye - then back to scream queen once more.

The Shark special effects are okay - nothing really ground-breaking to be honest, but there are lots of glancing shots and thrashing about from around 35 minutes in, with the Shark fully making a full appearance around 43 minutes into this 100 minute feature.

They have tried to get some depth into the characters - the lead (Sara) played by Kathryn Newton (Cassie Lang in Antman and the Wasp: Quantumania & soon to be appearing in Avengers: Doomsday) has flashback & dream sequences where she questions her own loyalty to her 'so called' friend group is mixed with the selfishness and Queen Bee vibes of her bestie Max, (played by Lana Condor - in nothing I have seen) to try and build momentum but it's all pretty weak and as they all get picked off one by one, no one seems to remain very upset for very long.

It's quite easy to predict who dies and who survives - I think I even got the death order correct as well as how it ends - so it's relatively predictable too.

It's not the best Shark film out there by a long margin.  Jaws will remain in critics hearts as the original (and the best) within this genre but with Shark movies making the transition from A-List Blockbuster (Meg / Deep Blue Sea) to cheesy B-Movie (Sharknado & others) it's a hard one to call.  Yes, this is better than those - but it's not quite up to the standard of The Shallows, The Reef, 47 Meters Down etc that do amp up the realism, and do it very well.

Fancy watching the Trailer?  Click Below...........

324, Shelter

New to Amazon Prime is the latest offering from Jason Statham - and as you'd expect - the plot doesn't require a Masters Degree to work it out.

Now don't get me wrong - I love the predictability of a Statham movie - Regular plot lines normally involve Statham as an ex-hardman - either in-hiding or retired from whatever Black-Ops / Spec-Ops unit he spent a lifetime mastering, now seeking the quiet life but, always manages to have his peace interrupted by either an ex-employer of someone bearing a grudge - or even just being in the wrong place at the wrong time to drag him back in, obliterate entire armies, and move on without a trace.

Shelter is no different - set in Scotland's Outer Hebrides - Statham is a recluse, living on a deserted and treacherous lighthouse island, receiving deliveries only by boat but with a bad storm wrecking the recent supply vessel, killing the Captain and leaving his Niece (Jessie) alone and fighting for her life in the stormy waters, Statham is compelled to help them.  

Back on-shore - the Niece, (Bodhi Rae Breathnach / Hamnet) suffering from a badly damaged ankle forces Mason to verbally engage and she starts to understand a little bit about his background - and relationship to her family on the mainland however, with Mason reluctant to take her to a hospital she is forced to recover on the island.

Statham reluctantly heads for the mainland for medical supplies and is clearly wary of CCTV - so you get a feeling he is hiding from something pretty important.  Meanwhile - back in London's Parliament building, MI6 are outed in a public enquiry for using secret spyware called T.H.E.A, collecting personal data on UK citizens and it's that same software that picks up Mason's retina scan (in the background of a teenagers video call), wrongly identifying him as an Albanian Terrorist.

Within hours, there's a kill squad is at his door, and the island turn into a fatal 'Home Alone' style house with Mason dispatching of those sent to kill him with relative ease.  Now on the run, Statham is forced to fight for his own survival, with a teenager in tow while we get to see behind the scenes at MI6 where the mistaken identity is quickly identified and we slowly work out the reasons why certain elements of MI6 are trying to assassinate one of their own.

No more spoilers from me, but the above is only really the first 30mins and as everything gets going, it's fair to say the following hour is an all out action fest.  Statham is as good as always and other familiar faces include Bill Nighy as the MI6 Chief / Manafort, Harriet Walter as the P.M and Daniel Mays as Booth - Mason's only reliable confidant. 

It's as good as any other movie of this genre out there with well choreographed fight scenes, intense car chases and brutal, bloody fight sequences.  The good / bad guys are identified quite early on and the relationship between Mason and Jessie, although not as paternal as those in A Working Man or Homefront, follows form of Statham being a protector to a young girl and it works well.

It's well acted - well casted and the settings of the Hebrides and Stornoway (shot across Ireland and Rural England locations) offer a bleak and reclusive backdrop compared to the bustling Capital.

Of course it's predictable but you don't watch a Jason Statham movie for the plot line - it's about him - action, great fight scenes and in most cases - a happy ending.

Averaging around two movies a year, his schedule is pretty decent between now and 2028 with Mutiny and the Beekeeper sequel still to come - a reprising of Deckard Shaw in Fast Forever (the 11th and hopefully last offering from this franchise) & a few more yet to be titled movies in production.

Yes they are all repetitive but if it ain't broke, why fix it? And as long as Statham keep churning out these one-man renegade movies - I'll keep watching them!

Fancy watching the Trailer?   Click Below..........