Above & Below Is a B-Movie Hybrid That Stumbles Over Its Own Ambition
The ninety-six minute mobster meets sharks meets cartel film “Above & Below” drowns in the troubled seas of genre-mashing experimentation. The film attempts to juggle shark-infested seas and the constant threat of the mob, but fails to sustain any semblance of cohesion. The end result is that it barely manages to stay afloat.
A Muddled Collision of Predators
The film fails to combine the terror of a cartel boss’s calculated malice and hunger with a shark’s primal nature. It switches from one sort of villain to another. In doing so, the film loses focus and structure, often seeming to put two different movies together.
There have been many reviews noting that the script has a unique premise (even if it is a little silly), but fails to capture a way to make the audience feel tense. There are some viewers that like the absurd nature of it all, but the rest of us feel bored out of our minds waiting for something to happen. The obvious potential for a high-stakes environment from swimming in open water was never realized.
Banderas and the Limits of Charisma
Here’s how Banderas should have been the only thing considered for award season. Most of the film is bland, except for when he appears. As the leader of the cartel, he adds needed weight to the film. Even with weak writing, he shines and brings power to scenes he’s in. The rest of the movie is left without weight, and uses dull dialogue to fill the gaps. A lot of the supporting cast in this movie is left to fill in dialogue which is lazy writing and full of tropes. While the shots capture how large and empty the Pacific is, the tech does little to help the many holes this film has in its story that unravels in the second act.
Who Should Dive In and Who Should Stay Dry
If you like seeing veteran actors chew scenery, then there is enough here for you to “enjoy” this movie, though many others will not agree. The script is a little better than some of the worst I’ve seen this year, but still some of the worst overall. If you give it a watch, you will be checking your phone and eagerly waiting for the next predictable and ridiculous shark attack to end and the pain to end with it. This movie will just frustrate you and leave you with a coherent and grounded story lacking, like me, you probably wanted.
Above & Below: Ending Explained
(Spoilers ahead) Above & Below ends its story with a confusing reconciliation of its messy themes. As a result, the human conflict becomes less relevant and takes a back seat to the shark conflict. By the last act of the film, everything goes out the window and the film’s human villains become expendable cannon fodder for the sharks.
This ending implies the Cartel was never the main antagonist. Rather, the main problem was the indifference of the ocean. Sure, it’s meant to be the film’s chaotic and high-energy climax, but it ultimately illustrates the messy divide of the two films. Instead of a satisfying climax, we’re left with a shrug as the ending.
