Somehow, The Shallows manages to just surpass the murky depths that most of those films sink to. It emerges as a surprisingly tense and entertaining thriller, though not one without its own set of unfortunate flaws and lost potential.
For those of us who prefer our survival dramas bare-bones and gritty, like Open Water, The Shallows may come across as the CW version. Its photogenic slickness detracts from its terror.
A splash of fresh seawater in the face of a rather dismal summer movie season. It's very cheesy, which is how escapist summer cinema should be, and part of its charm is that it's not self-reflective enough to be aware of its own cheesiness.
