Movie Review: Bait (2012)

Synopsis: A tsunami destroys a coastal city and leaves a group of survivors inside a grocery store. Their attempts to escape the flooded building are hindered by a pair of 12-foot sharks that kill anything in the water. To make matters worse, the tsunami interrupted an armed robbery attempt, and the armed criminal is still alive.

Who's in it? The movie stars Xavier Samuel, Sharni Vinson, Adrian Pang, Yuwu Qi and Phoebe Tonkin.

Review: My wife and I took a break from packing for our vacation and decided to watch a movie while it was storming outside. We went through a few before settling on Bait, mostly because we figured it is hard to mess up a shark movie (even though we've seen plenty of examples proving it can still happen). Overall, it ended up being a decent choice.

The premise of the movie is simple but entertaining. You do have to suspend some reality when it comes to the sharks and the fact they seemed to be killing just for the sake of killing, but there was just enough suspense and an overall sense of urgency to keep things interesting, especially when various other hazards, such as exposed electrical wiring, emerged as well.

The film also has some unique and clever elements to it as well, such as the decision to send someone into a storage room to turn off the power and creating a shark-proof suit of armor that was both helpful but also dangerous in itself. It was definitely something we haven't seen in other movies.

I think my only real complaint about this film is it felt like it had a few too many survivors. Some of them had more complex backstories than others but it did sometimes make it difficult to keep track of which characters I was supposed to care about. In fact, a couple of the deaths really had no impact simply because I had to have my wife remind me who the person was and why they were important. Plus, while the would-be robber (Julian McMahon) did add a little extra in terms of a threat, he did feel a bit like an overkill. As a result, a trimmed down cast might have made this movie better.

Final Opinion: I wouldn't describe it as the best shark movie I've seen but it is unique enough from most to be worth taking the time to watch. I'd recommend it as a result.

My Grade: B