Under Paris

6/6/2024

Under Paris is rather ridiculous French Jaws wannabe. Whilst this production is loaded down with the predictable woke tropes I've come to expect from Netflix productions, what really caught my attention was how idiotically implausible the story is. In the opening scene a group of male divers is tasked with investigating predation at a oceanic rubbish site, that's ensnared dolphins and other dead, sea life. Sharks soon turn up leading to the presence of a female shark, the scientific group have been monitoring.Inexplicably the shark has essentially doubled in size, leading their all knowing female boss to ask the divers to take "a sample" from the monster for study, rather than following the sane and reasonable path of fleeing in terror. Predictably, the shark doesn't take this tr

7/17/2024

Diving headfirst into the genre with all the enthusiasm fans could hope for, the horror / disaster film “Under Paris” is sometimes campy and often ridiculous, but also stands out as a solid entry in the niche of killer shark flicks. It may not be a great film by conventional standards, but this one is not going to disappoint with its willingness to take the premise everywhere fans of creature feature cinema will want it to go. Set in current day, the city of Paris is getting ready to host the World Triathlon Championships on the Seine. They’re expecting a large number of athletes to compete by swimming in the famous river, but there’s a big, big problem. Sophia (Bérénice Bejo), a brilliant marine scientist with a tragic past, learns from environmental activist Mika (Léa Léviant) that th

1/8/2025

Under Paris is one of those movies that tries to be profound but ends up feeling hollow. The story is weak, offering little to no meaningful takeaway, and the characters don’t evolve in any way that makes you care about them. It feels like the filmmakers had a vague idea of what they wanted to achieve, but the execution completely missed the mark. The pacing is uneven, with scenes dragging on unnecessarily, and the overall narrative lacks cohesion. Visually, the movie has its moments. The cinematography captures some striking shots, and there’s an attempt to create tension through dramatic imagery. However, even these moments feel empty without a solid story or relatable characters to back them up. It’s a case of style over substance, where flashy visuals try to mask the lack of depth,