Planet Of The Sharks (2016)

“Take your stinking fins off me, you damn dirty shark!” No, that line is not in Planet Of The Sharks. But it could have been, I suppose, and in fact during the opening credits sequence we see the Statue of Liberty under water. Planet Of The Sharks is different from the rest of the bad shark movies out there. It’s a post-apocalyptic film borrowing more from Waterworld than Jaws. The polar ice caps have melted, and the world is covered by water. A group of scientists at a research facility are working to do something about it, while the rest of the people are just trying to survive.

The movie opens at a place called Junk City, where rent is cheap. Perhaps if the residents changed their town’s name, they could feel better about themselves. Anyway, a title tells us, “Population 72.” Ah, not for long. Here come the sharks, and they can leap out of the water to claim their victims. One girl hides in a barrel. Not sure how that’s supposed to protect her, but it does. The sharks don’t bother to search the barrels for food. Junk City is now population 1, just Bea. She is soon rescued by Barrick, a man with a working boat, who is contracted to help the scientists at the research station.

Dr. Shaw and Dr. Nichols, and their team, are working on a rocket with a CO2 scrubber attached to it to try to reverse the effect of the melted poles and gain dry land. And they need to do it soon. Temperatures on the planet are increasing, and the excessive heat in the ocean is causing the plankton to die, upsetting the food chain, and leaving the main predators with nothing to eat in the water. And that’s why the sharks are jumping out to get their food. Of course, it does beg the question, What the fuck are the people eating? But let’s not worry about that. After all, this movie is actually taking the trouble to try to give us a scientific explanation for what’s happening. It’s trying to base the film in some sort of reality, something that most shark movies don’t bother doing. And the effort is appreciated. This is a surprisingly enjoyable film, much better than it has any business being. It is suspenseful at times, fairly well acted (with a couple of exceptions), with likeable and intelligent characters, and it’s actually interesting. Not the usual fare.

Anyway, the different types of sharks have all banded together into one school and are led by a giant shark that has the ability to control the others. This army of sharks is heading for Salvation (population 436 – see what a better town name can do for you?), and the scientists, Bea and Barrick head over there to warn them, and to get some parts they need for their rocket. The folks at Salvation are eager to fight the sharks, and get ready for the battle with a tribal dance that probably attracts them. And what’s great is that these folks do actually kill a lot of the sharks at first. They’re not amateurs. There’s a reason these people are still alive. But the sharks are just too numerous, and overwhelm them. Salvation is now population 1, just Moffat, who escapes with Barrick, Bea and the scientists.

The plan is to draw the sharks into a volcano and then use science to make it erupt. But even if that works, they still have to get the rocket off in time. Yes, it’s all a bit silly, but I totally got caught up in it. The actors seem invested, and that helps us accept the film’s reality. But what’s up with Bea hiding in a cage when the sharks come to attack the research facility? All that girl does is hide, and both times someone else has to point out the hiding spot for her. How is she still alive? Anyway, guess what is now above water at the end of the movie?