At least zombies can be made to look realistic using corn syrup, toilet paper and some red food coloring. Sharks are a bit more demanding. Why these film companies continue to make these shark movies for next to nothing when by their nature they require a good amount of money and talent to make them look good is a mystery to me. It just seems like a colossal waste of time.
So it was not without a bit of skepticism that I watched "Bait," a shark movie from Australia. To be honest the only thing that seemed like it would make it any better or at least different from the rest was the concept. In "Bait," a tsunami hits Queensland, flooding a supermarket along with the rest of the city. The people inside the store who survive are then faced with a 12-foot Great White that is swimming among the aisles. I must admit, that's a new one.
I also admittedly loved the tagline: "Cleanup on aisle 7." That's awesomely bad.
Apparently Australia is more serious about their shark movies than we are, because "Bait" is clearly making a heroic effort to make a good film. The sets look fantastic, the CGI is admittedly top notch for the genre, and the sharks actually look good. I can't believe I'm typing that but it's true. This is probably the first shark movie I've ever seen which features CGI sharks that look like they actually belong on this plane of existence. It's clear that the makers of this movie cared, and the studio cared enough to give them the budget. It's a nice change of pace.
"Bait" is a movie that's kind of hard to pin down in terms of the question "Is it good or not." It's probably best to instead ask "Does it do what it set out to do well." In those terms, I'd say "Bait" does just that. As far as killer shark movies go it's a pretty solid flick. And in what has to be a first, the sharks are actually fairly convincing despite being CGI. Trust me, that's a miracle.
Good lord, that actually looks like a shark!
Despite all of that, it's still a killer shark movie. It's not doing anything different from the rest, it's just that this time it's a well produced, well made film. While that gives it an official pass, whether or not it's a success as a movie depends completely on whether or not you're a fan of killer shark movies.
The biggest problem with a movie like this is that the plot does typically devolve into some by-the-numbers drudgery. Despite holding some decently effective tension throughout, it's always pretty clear when another cast member is about to become a serving of sashimi. Pro-tip for anyone watching one of these movies: If a heretofore minor character whose name you don't even know gets a dramatic closeup before doing something, they're about to die. That's the director's way of being nice before killing them off.
It doesn't help when the characters do some questionable things which seem unnecessarily suicidal. It's almost like they simply don't want to survive any longer. I'm just not sure why anyone would ever willingly dangle themselves over the water in these movies. They have to know the shark is going to just jump out of the water and eat them. And were I in that situation, I'd say as much, but then you'd have the one guy yelling back "You have any better suggestions?!" After that everyone would meekly cave in to his terrible idea, and someone else would sit themselves comfortably on the platter and begin seasoning themselves.
I, on the other hand, would bring up neat little factoids such as: "You know we have like a freaking bowie knife attached to a pole, right? That's called a spear, and we haven't used it for anything. We also have that really pointy hunk of metal that we pulled out of that dudes leg. We could make a scythe out of that thing. The shark is right there. Like, right there, slowly swimming around not 5 feet away from us. It's just doing laps. Let's stab it. A lot. With spears. The phrase "fish in a barrel" comes to mind. What's the problem here?"
Oh. Sorry, you're right. Get in the water wearing that. Solid plan. chief.
There's also some fairly useless side stories going on including a robbery gone Category 5 Bad, all of which is exposited on during the unusually lengthy intro. And while I shan't begrudge a film for characterization, it seems a bit strange to give such focus on events that are rendered pretty null and void once that tsunami hits and all the character's priorities switch over to "Don't get eaten." Of course there's still the prerequisite "Who's going in the water so the other person doesn't have to" thing the romantic interests do, but I don't think we need a half hour lead-in to establish a couple as boyfriend/girlfriend.
Again, that's not to say it is done poorly, because it's not. It's just a thing that I found slightly mystifying. Well, on second thought maybe the robbery thing wasn't done that great. I honestly didn't see the point in that at all. I just don't see the use of having a human villain in a killer shark movie. Somehow I'm more threatened by the sharks.
I know this wasn't the most glowing recommendation I've ever given, but in terms of killer shark movies, trust me, when I say that they got something as obviously important but as easily screwed up as "Make sure the sharks look good" right, that's a pretty big endorsement for these kinds of movies. After all, you know what you're going to get with a film of this genre. What matters is how hard they tried.
"AHH!!! I IMMEDIATELY REGRET THIS DECISION!"
THE BOTTOM LINE - "Bait" is not a great movie until you compare it to the slew of other shark movies that are terrible. Its best quality is the fact that in a genre that is riddled with horrible crap, it manages to not be bad. Take that for what it's worth. If you like killer shark movies, this one is worth checking out. Recommended for genre fans.
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