These days, it seems like every week is Shark Week. There is a plethora of movies available featuring a variety of sharks right up to the venerable “Meg 2.” Of course, the most popular bad boy is the Great White and in “The Last Breath” the usual suspects, er, victims gather to be eaten in a variety of entertaining ways.
Levi (Julian Sands in his final performance) has been searching for the wreck of the SS Charlotte, a WWII gunship that disappeared in the Caribbean. We know this thanks to an opening sequence in which the Charlotte was sunk by one of the Great Whites of the war, a German U-boat, with any survivors mopped up by hungry sharks. There is an especially nice sequence of the torpedo launch and travel before striking.
Levi has spent 40 years and all his money into search of that wreck. Then, one day after a big storm, Levi’s diver, Noah (Jack Parr – “Abomination”), sees some wreckage just barely exposed in the sandy bottom. The Charlotte has been found! While exploring the almost too pristine interior of the ship through a conveniently open hatch, Noah confirms the identity of the wreckage (somehow) but fails to notice a floating arm which the camera reveals to us. This arm is never referenced for the rest of the film.
Back on land, we discover that, strictly by coincidence, Noah’s “chums” (predicting what is to come) from college have arrived for their biennial gathering. This quartet represents the classic doomed friends from so many throw-away scripts: the wealthy arrogant entepreneur Brett (Alexander Arnold – “The Entertainer”); the man-child clown Logan (Arlo Carter – “Misunderstood”); the wide-eyed hysteric Riley (Erin Mullen – “Midsomer Murders”); and the serious love interest Sam (Kim Spearman – “The Necklace”).
Debts have caught up with Levi, and he and Noah agree to take the four friends diving to explore the Charlotte in return for $50,000. Brett picks up the tab.
The rest of the opus, filmed in Malta rather than the Caribbean, takes place under water within the labyrinth of still strangely pristine Charlotte as they hunt for excitement – not realizing until it is too late that some Great Whites also found the open hatch and are doing their own hunting.
The acting is solid, especially Julian Sands, who brings his gaunt, world-weary presence to a film with too many stereotypes. There are numerous plot holes and unnecessary sacrifices, but overall the story moves well and there are enough jump scares provided by the sharks and enough gore, also provided by the sharks, to keep up interest. This is not Shakespeare, although there are plenty of pounds of flesh offered up. Enjoy it for what it is.
Credits
Director: Joachim Heden
Writers: Andrew Prendergast, Nick Saltrese
Producers: Andrew Prendergast, Chris Reed
Cinematographer: Eric Borjeson
Editor: Frederik Morheden Sff, Albin Simonsson
Music: Patrick Kirst
Runtime: One hour, 36 minutes
Availability: In theaters and on demand starting July 26, 2024
. . .
Join us on Facebook at
http://www.facebook.com/itsjustmovies!