After seeing the intense first film, 47 Meters Down, the sequel, 47 Meters Down Uncaged, ups the ante by having not two, but four girls go against a great white shark without a shark cage to protect them. I must say, this is one of the better shark films that I’ve come across.

Synopsis: Stepsisters Mia (Sophie Nelisse) and Sasha (Corinne Foxx) go out with their friends Alexa (Brianne Tju) and Nicole (Sistine Stallone) to explore part of the underwater Mayan ruins that their dad’s (John Corbett) team discovered. But more than the remains of ancient civilization, the girls encounter something more sinister lurking underneath the waters. Their curiosity might come at the cost of their lives.

Sometimes, you just need to ask yourself. Why does the plot for dumb teenagers doing something they’re not supposed to, work? Its been used countless times and here, we see it at work again. However, this time around, there were actually three levelheaded teens in the bunch who do try to set limitations to their adventure seeking. Still, the main problem was, they all listened to that one stupid b*tch who never had a lick of sense. 

I liked the consistency of the characters and their development as the story progressed. Apart from Nicole who was the most annoying character in the movie, all of the characters really seemed to be fighters who wanted to get out of their predicament. Of course, the Great White served as a constant threat but the girls did exceedingly well compared to other dumb teens that preceeded them. This makes audiences root for their survival all the more. I was rooting to Mia, Sasha, and Alexa the whole time but unfortunately, one can’t get too attached to characters in this movie because it had a very high turnover.

Kudos to the filmmakers of 47 Meters Down Uncaged for ensuring that the cinematography of the underwater shots are just as good as the scenes above water. There was great consistency to the texture of the shots and there was great camerawork by the team in transitioning from camera to camera. The movements were very fluid and managed to capture every essential element in the movie. As a matter of fact, there were many creative shots that were used throughout the film like Alexa hanging upside down and going face to face with a shark. 

Because it was underwater and it was a network of caves underneath, the film had a feel of The Descent in some parts of the movie which worked well in developing the suspense. The fact that the girls were open prey for the great white and his gang was even more horrifying. The cramped space, along with the growing threat of even more sharks attacking, amped up the sense of urgency in the film. 

There was also great acting involved with this strong cast. I loved the father daughter dynamic between Mia and her dad and the fact that he was so levelheaded that he never even scolded his daughter after finding out what she did to get herself in trouble. It was a heartbreaking moment to see how this played out. 

The film smartly employed jump scares sparingly, making sure that they were not overused in the entirety of the film. It also successfully manages the qualities of the characters even thiugh half the time they were swimming for gheir lives.

What I liked most about this film was its tenacity. Like a great white, it doesnt let go of your attention once it gets you in between its razor sharp teeth. Up until the last moment, everything is up in the air. Audiences will most likely feel short of breath throughout the movie because they will be so in the moment with the girls. Like I said, its one of the most solid shark movies out there, even better than Jason Statham’s The Meg.

Kudos to the writer-director team of Ernest Riera and Johannes Roberts for this strong addition to a budding franchise.