We’ve had sharks in an underwater lab, a grocery store, a river, sand, and snow, as well as toxic sharks and ghost sharks (twice, actually). So what could possibly be left to do with sharks that hasn’t been done before? Take the concept of putting our sharp-finned friends in a plane and mix that in a blender with a disaster flick premise to serve you No Way Up from RLJE Films.
A flock of birds fly into the engine of a plane carrying a small group of people to Cabo, causing it to nosedive into the ocean. Too bad this plane was not piloted by Sully Sullenberger to help with a safe landing. Due to the initial impact of hitting the water or straight up drowning, most of the passengers are killed in the descent; especially one unfortunate soul who shows why you should not head to the bathroom when the “Fasten Seat Belt” light is on.
The (un)lucky 7 survivors huddle in the back of a flooding plane that is quickly sinking into the abyss. To make matters worse, while the final 7 are hanging out by the trays of snacks and refreshments, they also must fend off the threat of sharks trying their darnedest to make our characters into snacks of their own.
Our remaining potential shark bait includes California governor’s daughter Ava (Sophie McIntosh, Brave New World), her boyfriend Jed (Jeremias Amoore, Zero Chill), and their obnoxious friend Kyle (Will Attenborough, Hunter Killer, Dunkirk)—the latter totally gets off on clowning the flight attendant Danillo (Manuel Pacific, Terminator: Dark Fate). There is also “Nana” Mardy (Phyllis Logan, Downton Abbey, Shetland) and her granddaughter Rosa (Grace Nettle, War of the Worlds).
While most of these actors, sans Logan, might not be recognizable at first glance, you will instantly identify veteran actor Colm Meaney (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Con Air, Under Siege). He plays Ava’s rugged bodyguard Brandon, hired by his longtime friend and employer, the governor, to watch over her. Meaney is easily one of the few bright spots in the film. To be fair, the acting overall is not terrible, but the characters outside of Brandon are just so uninteresting that you find yourself not really caring about any of their fates.
But at least No Way Up has a fun premise going for it, right? Unfortunately, it is nowhere near as fun as it sounds. How do you take a cool premise and make a more tedious shark film than 47 Meters Down, which came from the same producers? Director Claudio Fäh (Hollow Man II, Sniper: Reloaded) says “hold my beer.” As soon as the plane floods and the sharks make their presence known, this one feels like the start of a love letter to Deep Blue Sea. But the result is more like Deep Blue Zzz.
Meanwhile, the plot is all over the place. We are given a rather intense opening credits sequence that seems like it will have a major bearing on the story later, only for the incident to be briefly explained at the beginning and then dropped completely. In fact, there are a lot of characters’ backstories set up only to be forgotten about or to make no significant impact on the story. As if they were all just filler, which this movie certainly does not need. Things just seem so disjointed while dragging along for 90 minutes.
You must wonder if what made it to the screen is what writer Andy Mayson originally intended or if this was the result of producers’ interference and those pesky, hectic re-writes. Just seems bizarre that a film with a cool premise like this one was intended to be played completely straight at conception, void of any sense of comedy. Bold move, Cotton.
It is an absolute travesty when a film has the makings for an absurd, yet entertaining, popcorn flick to give us some chills and laughs, only to be delivered as serious as a heart attack, or in this case, a shark attack, putting you to sleep in the process. Even the underrated, although not perfect, Bait 3D balanced its sincerity and levity perfectly. The teaser for this one screamed Sharks on a Plane, but the finished product doesn’t live up to that promise.
The only positives of this film are Colm Meaney, the mere presence of sharks, an intentional or not throwback to Jaws 2, and the plane crash sequence. That sequence is well done and provides so much potential for the rest of the film before it sinks faster than a plane in the ocean.
No Way Up is now playing in select theaters and available on VOD outlets.
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