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Shark Killer
R2 - United Kingdom - Image Entertainment Review written by and copyright: Matthew Crossman (22nd June 2015). |
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The Film
 Chase Walker (Derek Theler) is a shark killer, as ably demonstrated within the first five minutes of this movie. He is also very tall, very handsome, a womaniser and a bit of a smarty pants. He is summoned from the beaches of Hawaii all the way to Cape Town in South Africa where he meets an old acquaintance in Jake (Paul du Toit). We discover, once upon a time saved Chase’s life from a shark attack and therefore Chase owes Jake. Jake wants Chase to kill a great white shark that just happens to have swallowed a huge diamond that belongs to Jake, and Jake wants Chase to retrieve it for him. Chase agrees but before long there is another party involved that wants the diamond and this other person plays rough. Going along for the ride, and to keep a watchful eye on Chase, is Jake’s personal lawyer Jasmine (Erica Cerra). It’s not long before we discover that danger is not confined to the choppy waters off Cape Town as the other interested party is a gangster and major drug overlord called Nix (Arnold Vosloos). The race is now on as to who can get to the diamond first and to what lengths they will go to. It’s been forty years this summer (2015) since ‘Jaws’ by Steven Spielberg was released. This anniversary has clearly not passed the makers of ‘Shark Killer’ by as the opening five minutes borrow heavily from Spielberg’s classic film, including the music (there is even a scene later on that copies, almost identically, ‘Jaws’ famous ‘head’ scene). With that ‘homage’ out of the way the film starts to break original ground of it’s own. This is not to say that it’s wholly original. In fact it seems to be the filmmakers opinion that if you throw as many genres into the mix then you’ll appeal to the widest audience. Therefore, with ‘Shark Killer’ you get a shark movie, a gangster movie, an action/adventure picture as well as a villain who would not look completely out of place in a James Bond film. The cast perform as well as can be expected with the material they are given. Derek Theler, playing Chase Walker, seems to spend the film channelling Chris Pratt (Jurassic World) and why not? He’s the spitting image of him. Theler spends the entire film flexing his muscles, beating people up but always with a smile on his face and a twinkle in his eye. Erica Cerra, playing Jasmine, plays the hard nosed lawyer who is soon melted by Chase’s charms whilst Paul du Toit, playing Jake, starts off a typical gangster before becoming the films main comedic element. Arnold Vosloo (most memorable for his stint as Imhotep in ‘The Mummy’ (1999)) plays the chief villain Nix. Nix is a sharp dressing, scarred drug overload who loves diamonds and desperately needs a big, white fluffy cat to stroke. The real disappointment is the shark. Considering the advances in CGI technology it seems the makers of ‘Shark Killer’ are still using software that was last used to animate the shark in ‘Deep Blue Sea’. Even ‘Bruce’ the animated shark from ‘Finding Nemo’ looks more realistic. Still, at eighty four minutes, the film does not outstay it’s welcome and if you are in the mood for cheesy fun it could be just the ticket.
Video
1.78:1 anamorphic. The picture is a little soft in places but other than that the colour palette is reasonably well reproduced. Bearing in mind that this production is a low budget film, the picture quality of this DVD is more than acceptable, just not anything special. The level of care in producing this disc is probably in proportion to the level of care and effort in making the film in the first place.
Audio
Two choices; English Dolby Digital Stereo 2.0 or English Dolby Digital 5.1. There is not a great deal to choose between the options. The sub woofer is used quite sparingly but the dialogue is clear and crisp. The rear speakers are reserved mainly for the sounds of the sea and gunfire. Acceptable. There are no subtitles present on this disc whatsoever. It would appear that deaf people don’t dig shark movies.
Extras
No extras to speak of. You do get three start up trailers before the main feature menu pops up. These are; ‘The Haunting of Radcliffe House’ (1.22), ‘The Device’ (2.51) and ‘The Poltergeist of Borley Forest’ (4.18).
Overall
Ok, ‘Shark Killer’ is no ‘Jaws’. In fact it’s not even a ‘Jaws 2’ but it would stand up well against the other two films in that series. It’s a Friday night, beers and pizza movie that is good for a few giggles but is instantly forgettable fare. The cast do a good job and they seem to be enjoying themselves and that came across to this viewer, who despite himself, ending up being mildly entertained for a morning. CGI shark aside you could do a lot worse. I know I have.
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