47 Meters Down: Uncaged Is Basically The First Film On Repeat But Double The Fun

      The summer movie box office season wouldn't be complete without the release of 47 Meters Down: Uncaged, the sequel to the 2017 surprise hit that starred Mandy Moore and Claire Holt. The first 47 Meters Down despite receiving mixed reviews from critics was a box office success overall, grossing over $62 million worldwide against a budget of only $5 million. The concept was a basic one though cleverly executed with the main characters being trapped inside a cage in the ocean surrounded by giant sharks with limited Oxygen forcing them to fight for survival. The film never reached the cinematic heights of Jaws, but still managed to be entertaining and thrilling to watch for the films 85-minute running time. The sequel 47 Meters Down: Uncaged, tells a different story while utilizing the same concept, giving audiences more of the ingredients of what made the first film a hit while increasing the shock and suspense level. Does the new 47 Meters Down live up to the thrills of the first movie and exceed it in terms of being scary? The answer is both yes and no, Uncaged delivers more of what audiences enjoyed about the previous film while upping the stakes compared to the first movie. 47 Meters Down: Uncaged is not a perfect film as the element of surprise from the first film is absent here, but audiences watching it will get their moneys worth in terms of experiencing a ton of surprise jump scares and suspense for the films 90-minute running time.

      The plot for 47 Meters Down: Uncaged focuses on four teenage girls diving down to a ruined underwater city and becoming trapped in a cave full of giant deadly sharks with no way out. What begins as a vacation with fun and excitement turns into claustrophobia as well as fear of being eaten by a series of killer sharks. Whereas the first movie focused on the characters of Claire Holt and Mandy Moore being trapped in a Cage with limited Oxygen as they figure out a way to make it to the surface without being eaten, the sequel doubles the number of characters being trapped underwater, not only keeping them female-oriented to bring a sense of vulnerability to the story, but also changing the setting of the cage to an underwater cave that's ultimately cornered off while being overrun by sharks. Uncaged feels like a sequel that knows what made the first movie a hit and gives larger doses of those ingredients to the audience while keeping character development and story grounded with the reality of the situation. There is no over exposition other than the necessary information given to the audience regarding the characters which helps the film move at a fast pace with it's speedy 90 minute running time. The filmmakers like the first 47 Meters Down, 
are focused on getting the main characters into the water quickly so the real story begins as well as the fun and excitement. Whereas the first movie came across as feeling like the film Gravity mixed with Jaws underwater, the sequel feels like The Descent mixed with Jaws with the number of characters being trapped in a cave with no way out. Uncaged is a bolder, riskier, and more challenging sequel than the first film, because the filmmakers are playing off a larger field but the end result works as being genuinely exciting and engaging to watch.

      As far as the acting performances go, the cast of 47 Meters Down: Uncaged does a believable job of playing a group of frightened young teenage girls trapped underwater. Sophie Nelisse and Corinne Foxx deliver solid performances as two adoptive sisters being unhappily forced together as family due to their parents marriage. Nelisse creates a likable and sympathetic young female lead trying to fit in with both her new family and school only to suffer extreme bullying from other girls. Foxx plays the unhappy sister part well with My Big Fat Greek Weddings John Corbett and Friday's Nia Long leaving notable performances as the parents trying to keep their family together. Brec Bassinger does well playing Mia's school bully, who the audience wants to immediately see get eaten up by the sharks due to the abrupt cruelness of the character. She does a really good job of making the audience despise her character. Sistine Rose Stallone and Brianne Tju add more fun to the mix playing amusing side characters to Nelisse and Foxx with Tju having some good moments. Overall, the cast as a whole is well put together and strong enough with the delivery of their performances to make the audience care about their fate, particularly the sisters with the audience witnessing their arc from being forcibly put together and not wanting to be apart of each others life to them fighting together in order to survive. With the emotions conveyed on the screen by these actors, there's just enough heart the film possesses to make the audience feel something for the characters besides wanting them to instantly get eaten by the sharks.

      In terms of directing, Johannes Roberts returns to the directing chair from the first 47 Meters Down, bringing the same level of energy to this film while using the same slick directorial style such as keeping the film low budget and utilizing several different camera tricks, that give the audience the feeling that they're underwater while placing them in the shoes of the characters. One of the things that made the original effective in terms of its use of jump scares, was the fact that both the characters and audiences couldn't see anything more than what was a few feet in front of them with the POV shots. When the sharks entered the frame with some cases feeling like they're jumping out at the audience, those were very intense moments that made the audience jump in the theater. The sequel understands that method and maintains that strategy of scaring the audience with the same style being repeated here with flashing red lighting being used heavily. Watching the film, one can tell that Roberts had a much bigger budget to play with this time as evidenced by the underwater set pieces involving the cave ruins, making it work well for the overall story and atmosphere. The CGI sharks are more improved this time with the visual and coloring aspects of the film looking sharp. The films fast-pacing helps push the intensity of the story, creating more suspense as the characters struggle to survive. As far as the directing goes, Roberts stays true to the elements that made the first one a hit with audiences, giving them larger doses without losing sight of what made the first movies story believable and frightening.

      The films screenplay by Ernest Riera and Johannes Roberts as co-writer is basic yet effective with it keeping the character development and exposition limited enough to the point where the audience gets a feel for the characters and story. One of the films smartest decisions early on was beginning its story with no connections to the events of the previous film, making both stories separate and contained to enhance maximum scares with the idea of playing with the unknown. The writers do a decent job of making the audience care about the siblings predicament and feel the abandonment Mia experiences with her father not being there enough as he's generally pulled away to work on an old underwater city, that's been recently discovered. The audience also cares when Mia is bullied by Catherine and literally wants to scream at the screen for her to not go with the other girls to the bottom boat tour that leads them to the sharks. The moments such as the girls deciding to take a detour and dive near the lost city where Mia's father is working can be mistaken as terrible or lazy writing, but it actually fits within the realm of stupid decisions that main characters in horror movies generally make as they need need a reason to visit the sharks. Riera and Roberts keep the spirit of the script much in tune with the first films concept with the main female characters carrying personal baggage with them as well as poor decision making, that places them in the situations they become entangled in. The audience might find it harder this time to digest the reasoning for the main characters going underwater (Especially when the father shows them a tooth of a shark early on), but it stays in the tradition of bad decision making that has become common in today's horror movies in regards to character traits while acting as a device for triggering what comes next.

      Like its predecessor, 47 Meters Down: Uncaged is an effectively entertaining and fun experience, that shouldn't be taken too seriously and enjoyed under the condition that logic is left at the door. As far as shark movies go, these films along with the first two Jaws, Deep Blue Sea, and Shallows are some of the stronger ones. Given that the film is rated PG-13 much like the first film, the jolts and jump scares are surprisingly effective with moments of gore being restrained yet effective when they appear. The sharks remain just as scary and intense as they were the first time around though the only main criticism that can be lauded at the film, is the film sometimes becomes too dark underwater that audiences have a difficult time seeing what is going on. Given that both movies could've easily been throwaway direct to video flicks, Johannes Roberts and co-writer Ernest Riera do a good job of elevating the material and trying to make the story something more that's at the very least mildly entertaining. Roberts desire here is to entertain his audience and with both films, he does so with energy and excitement. There is enough character development in both movies to make the audience care about the main characters, which is important otherwise the end result is just boring. The suspense is handled well in the film and keeps building up until the films third act, which becomes insane yet exciting nonetheless. It definitely feels like a more improved climax than the ending of the first movie for sure. This is the type of film that works great with a large theater audience or group of friends as the jump scares are solid. However if you end up watching it at home by yourself, its just as entertaining and eye-catching. As a sequel to the first 47 Meters Down, its definitely worth a watch and delivers on its promise to entertain. Some may prefer the more simpler tone of the first movie in regards to its plot which is fine but there's much fun and excitement to behold here.

Final Verdict: For horror fans and fans of films where animals attack humans, its worth watching as it ups the excitement and thrills of the first movie while in some ways being a more enjoyable film.