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The shark bites a bit of Nancy’s leg, forcing her to take refuge on top of a rock alongside an injured sea gull. It is the bloodthirsty shark that is disturbed from its sumptuous meal of decomposing whale carcass by Nancy’s curiosity. It isn’t cramps that gets her, or the pair of suspicious happy-go-lucky surfers that she meets mid-ocean. Without even a warm-up, she hops on her surfboard and surfs the afternoon away. She gets there safe and sound and sees that the place is heaven on Earth – a piece of uncelebrated real estate that is postcard-perfect from every angle. Nancy’s on her way to a secluded Mexican beach via a rundown jeep driven by a chatty local (Óscar Jaenada), while she exchanges text messages with a hungover friend who can’t accompany her. Here, the protagonist is depicted as a carefree adventurer who is out to conquer the world – only to end up in pain and suffering all for everybody else’s entertainment. The Shallows starts off like Danny Boyle’s 127 Hours (2010), and all the other tourist-turned-victim flicks. All it needs is a girl, a buoy, and a sea with a shark and every other underwater danger possible that separates them. Its value hinges on its capacity to deliver the most basic of thrills without the fervent need to expound on anything. The Shallows is admittedly shallow – but effective entertainment. However, it can also refer to why the movie, set into action with such minimalist flair by Unknown (2011), Non-Stop (2014) and Run All Night (2015) director Jaume Collet-Serra, is such a hoot. The title of the movie obviously refers to that part of the ocean where med school drop-out Nancy (Blake Lively) is matched with a human-hating shark.