47 Meters Down: Uncaged

A fairly dismal sequel, 47 Meters Down: Uncaged follows a group of teen friends (including Sophie Nélisse’s Mia and Sistine Stallone’s Nicole) as they’re pursued by bloodthirsty sharks during a diving expedition into a ruined city. Filmmaker Johannes Roberts delivers a sporadically engaging yet mostly underwhelming follow up that places far too great an emphasis on the protagonists’ underwater exploits, as such sequences suffer from a dim and murky feel that’s generally as disastrous as one might’ve feared – with the less-than-engrossing vibe compounded by a total lack of compelling, three-dimensional characters. It doesn’t help, either, that the picture’s been hamstrung by a PG-13 rating that precludes overt instances of gore (which might’ve alleviated the otherwise tedious atmosphere, ultimately), and although the picture closes with an absolutely bonkers climax that almost justifies the whole thing, 47 Meters Down: Uncaged is, for the most part, an unwatchable thriller that spends far too much time mired in the darkness with far-from-sympathetic protagonists.

** out of ****