Well, I have to admit that I was initially expecting the 2022 thriller "Shark Bait" (aka "Jetski") to be just another generic shark movie. But truth be told, I am a sucker for shark movies, so of course I had to watch what writer Nick Saltrese had to offer here.
"Shark Bait" started out a bit slow and seemed to be a rather generic shark movie. You know, the kind where a group of youngsters get a bit too precarious and go up against Mother Nature. And yeah, it was also true here to some extend, and the young people get marooned far out in the open sea, and then a shark enters the frame.
Writer Nick Saltrese actually managed to churn "Shark Bait" into more than just a run-of-the-mill shark movie. And by that I mean that it was actually an entertaining and enjoyable movie. Sure, the storyline here was generic to the core, not to mention predictable as well, and was essentially something that has been seen many, many times before in other shark movies. And yeah, it is one of those movies where the shark keeps stalking the protagonists and linger around for way longer than it should or would, just to get to chomp on the protagonists one by one. Makes zero sense, but it was entertaining.
I wasn't familiar with the cast ensemble that were in "Shark Bait", but they actually put on good enough performances here. Sure, "Shark Bait" is not Shakespearian storytelling, but you get my drift.
Visually then "Shark Bait" was actually good. Lots of blood and enough visceral gore to keep a seasoned gorehound such as myself happy. And as a shark movie, then having blood and believable effects is a must. And yeah, even the shark was realistic here, and that counts for a lot in these types of movies.
I was genuinely entertained by what director James Nunn delivered with "Shark Bait", and it is a shark movie that is well-worth sitting down to watch if you like shark movies.
My rating of "Shark Bait" lands on a six out of ten stars.