Review of The Reef

The Reef (2006)
7/10
The third in a trilogy of unrelated fish movies
28 July 2007
I saw The Reef (which is one of Shark Bait's other titles, to which I shall refer it as) when I was in Ireland, and I kinda liked it. It's definitely not Finding Nemo, and I haven't seen Shark Tale (so I can't compare the two); it's in a class all by itself.

Now, many people have said that The Reef is a rip-off of Finding Nemo, Shark Tale, or both movies. But The Reef is more like, and here I quote another user whose name I forget, "Karate Kid with fish".

A quick summary of the plot: When Pi suddenly becomes an orphan, he travels with a pod of porpoises (NOT dolphins! As Percy laments, "Why does everyone think I'm a dolphin?") to the reef in order to live with his aunt. Pi meets up with his cousin, Dylan, and a beautiful model named Cordelia. Pi is immediately smitten with Cordelia, but a big problem stands in his way. Troy the tiger shark wants to give Cordelia his pearl (the equivalent of a wedding ring, and a bit of a symbol of giving one's purity to his/her spouse...but that's a different story). But Pi can't stand to see Cordelia pushed around by that big bully and his two cronies, a barracuda and a wolf eel, so he decides to do something about it...but what? With the help of Dylan, Percy and his pod, Nerissa the ninja/wizard sea turtle, three old marlins, a seal with grand storytelling skills, a sassy crab, and a flippant saw shark, Pi sets off to save the reef...and the girl he loves. But -- cue dramatic music -- will he succeed? I still remember a few quotes, like "The captain is ashamed of you...and he doesn't even exist!" (Nerissus), and "Evil henchmen don't get the willies. They *give* the willies!" (the barracuda). Plus, the three old marlins swapping human stories (Remember that last fish you caught? How sure are you that it wasn't trying to catch you?) and a few undersea puns ("Check out my mussels" and "Un-fishin-believeable!") will catch the fish nerd in you.

Of course, the CGI is a bit strange. Some people call it cheap effort, but I say it's merely artistic license. Then again, I'm overly optimistic...

Now, this movie is without flaws, even in my view. Occult/supernatural stuff, lots of unnecessary bathroom gags, and a stereotypical gay attitude to the saw shark gave me the blahs. That's why this movie got a seven out of ten from me.

In the end, it all depends on your tastes. If you like fish movies, and you have strange tastes, then go on ahead and see it...although you may want to wait for the DVD and just rent that...it's really up to you.

And, if you *really* like fish movies (like I do), then why not watch FiN, ST, and TF as a triple-feature?
3 out of 8 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Recently Viewed