The Reef (2010)

n my opinion it was a great movie with some interesting elements, even though having some plot holes and the ending probably was just too messy and crammed together, but still fun to watch and not your casual movie that is similar to all other ones.

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

I don't know why this movie is regarded as one of the best shark films. The pace is very slow, they didn't even realize a shark was there until about 50 minutes into the movie. The rest is just them swimming and swimming until they all die one by one. We do not see an actual attack here. I gave it 5 because it had a few good moments here and there. I think Black Water was much better than this, although it's a croc film, the tension was built since the boat flipped early in the film. Here, no tension was built up at all until the shark showed 50 minutes in.

This film is so well done you need a second viewing to appreciate all the clever little touches. When Luke (Damien Walshe-Howling), along with his offsider Warren (Kieran Darcy-Smith), are due to deliver a yacht to a customer in Indonesia, he invites three friends to join them on a cruise first: Matt (Gyton Grantley), his partner Suzie (Adrienne Pickering) and Matt's sister Kate (Zoe Naylor), Luke's old girlfriend.However, they are stranded at sea when the yacht capsizes. Under Luke's leadership, four of them decide to swim to an island over the horizon while Warren decides to stay on the overturned boat. The story follows the swimmers who are soon stalked by a great white shark.Fear of those teeth make this everyone's worst nightmare, but rather than being a simple gore-fest, the story deals with the dynamics among the swimmers, their absolute vulnerability, and how they face up to the psychological as well as the physical horror.Director Andrew Traucki threw every trick in the book at this film and he knows how to deliver a shock. Val Lewton may have had his bus, but Traucki has his splashing fish, and even the swimmers themselves when they suddenly bob up out of the water. As for the shark? Traucki takes the approach Lewton took in film after film - sometimes the best effect is the one you don't show. But when he does show the shark emerging out of the depths, it's so eerie it's enough to make you throw your swimming costume straight into the trash.The film is based on a real event, detailed on the IMDb Trivia page. However, there is one other aspect to the story that some may find interesting. Matt's character is based on Dennis Murphy, who in reality swam away from the other survivors to lure the shark away after it had severed his leg. He was posthumously awarded the Star of Courage, Australia's second highest civilian award for bravery. After seeing this movie one might wonder just how the powers-that-be actually made the decision to award the 'second' highest award - they must have had a very rarefied standard in mind to arrive at that.Superb photography and a brilliantly realised score add to a film that is one of the most edge-of-the-seat thrillers you are likely to see. But it is also an exploration of how people face stark terror, while still finding the inner strength to help each other.

Single handedly the best shark movie I've seen thus far. There were no unnecessary comedy bits, and stuck true to its fight or flight theme.I was held captive from the beginning. There were moments where I held my breath without even noticing it, only to let out a muffled "urrrgghhh". Throughout this movie I found myself feeling helpless and almost as though I were there myself, hell, even half way through I said with a sigh "this movie is exhausting".I would not call this movie a horror though, it's more like a psychological thriller. I think the possibility of "what if" and the "what's that" plays with your mind way more than the actual shark attacks (which were a bit lackluster if I'm being honest).I do not think you'd be happy with this movie if you're looking to feel like if you are watching the exorcist or something along the lines of getting the crap scared out of you and not being able to go to the toilet alone for a while. If you are looking for a movie where you jump out of your skin and get your heart racing (even if it's once) this movie would be a great choice. It truly brings out your survival instincts.

'The Reef' is a film that falls victim to its own setting: five friends' boat capsizes, leaving them adrift in the ocean at the mercy of sharks. That's it. The problem lies with the fact that there's little they can do in the ocean, other than float in the water and wait to be picked off.Yes, sometimes they swim a bit and one guy never stops putting on and taking off his goggles in order to look underwater for signs of Jaws' distant cousin. But that's about it. The action never really goes above that. There's also not much gore, just a lot of blood in the water.Apparently, this film was 'based on a true events.' Perhaps that's a warning that true life isn't as interesting as watching the cinema, filled with mutated monsters with laser guns for eyes, kicking over the Empire States Building. Personally, I'll stick to the slightly more unrealistic films like 'Shark Night' and 'Deep Blue Sea' than this one. The Reef may be more accurate, but it's a lot less interesting.