Customer Reviews

Shark Hunter

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

The megalodon (a giant prehistoric shark) is back in yet another movie. But this time the shark itself is a true work of art. I just wish the rest of the movie was up to the standards of the shark.

We meet a college professor (Sabato, Jr.) who claims he was the only survivor when a megalodon ate his family. This even has driving him in his life's endeavors. He has created a sophisticated research sub (looks like it came out of Sea Quest). When an undersea station is destroyed, he gets the chance to get on his sub and look for answers.

The acting is really quite lousy with Sabato, Jr. going through incredible mood swings. Most of the rest of the crew seem like they can't stand doing their jobs. One stick jock has a real attitude problem that could cause security problems (although he claims to be looking out for the better good).

The sub is gigantic and has large open spaces that defy reality. Although Sabato designed the sub and has been on it before, he is given a tour as if he had never seen a sub before. He even supplies the wide-eyed amazement of the first-timer.

The plot makes little sense. The visit the site of the destruction but don't do any real investigation. Instead they seem to cruise around the ocean with no particular course or goal.

But the shark is fantastic. It looks real, not like a CGI shark or a superimposed enlargement. It exudes true menace in a way few sharks in movies ever have. It makes the movie worth watching.

This is a movie with a great shark but don't look for acting, plot or continuity. Luckily the shark gets a lot of screen time.

The only thing even remotely entertaining about this movie was pretending that I was on MST3K and heckling the 'actors' and the movie in general. I read a review of Deep Blue Sea a while ago that pointed out that, while it was by no means an excellent movie, it did exactly what a Large Angry Sea Creature movie should do, which is scare you so bad that you end the movie with a tension headache. I agree completely. This movie absolutely failed in that respect. About the worst that happened is one of my legs fell asleep. I didn't relate to or even give a crud about any of the characters. Every time a character bought it, I was only glad that there was that much less bad acting to subject myself to. The two, count 'em, two times the shark actually killed anyone didn't even approach suspenseful. Bad writing, bad acting, bad effects, bad movie. I only wish that I could give this steaming pile a lower rating. Do yourself, me, and every other person who might unwittingly waste 90 minutes of their short lives on this thoroughly awful movie a favor and destroy every copy that you can find.

SHARK HUNTER was better than I had expected, giving us a very convincing shark and some unexpected plot developments. Fans looking for a lot of gore will be disappointed, but the director manages to keep a tense atmosphere and even the stilted performance from Antonio Sabato, Jr. doesn't destroy the film. The realistic effects are above average for a "B" movie. Filmed in Bulgaria, the accents of some of the co-stars are difficult to interpret, but they perform adequately. Grand L. Bush as the bullheaded Harrington offers his usual competent presence.
It's no JAWS, but it's better than you might expect.

Finally an actor I recognize! ASJ from General Hospital fame. Well. This is SOO much easier to follow and higher budget than that "other" megalodon movie(SA 3) ! There was plenty of shark footage and arguments over whether to kill it or study it. Well, getting it back to study it before it kills them is the problem. I did not have high expectations for this movie, but I was pleasantly surprised. The ending wasn't the happiest greatest idea in the world, but Deep Blue Sea had a stupid ending too.
Don't forget a new Meg movie out this July. If you want to avoid other bad shark movies, steer clear of Red Water. Yes, I know it's about a bullshark, but the movie is really hardly about the bullshark. see my review.

I had a free DVD rental coupon and thought for free what the heck; after all I love any marine movie about sharks and oceans and adventure. Shark Hunter stars Antonio Sabato, Jr. and that should have been my first clue to shelf the movie and move on. Shark Hunter is no JAWS, not even DEEP BLUE SEA. The film is about a marine biologist (Sabato) that believes that a Megalodon (a prehistoric 60' long shark) is a live and, well hungry! Although the shark has been extinct for thousands of years, a series of destruction and missing people have scientist determined to fight this beast until the end. The overacting and lack of realistic visuals along with a poor script make this less than entertaining. The film is rated R for language? How does a film about a shark terrorizing and eating people not rate an R for suspense, and horror? Don't disappoint yourself; if you enjoy monsters of the deep there are many others to choose from.

This odd apparently joint Bulgarian-US production is quite astonishingly bad. It has all the appearance of being an attempt to cash in on the forthcoming film of the novel "Meg", also based on the idea of the survival of the very large prehistoric shark Carachodon Megalodon in the deepest depths of the ocean (imagine a semi-trailer full of teeth where the driver usually sits and you have the general idea). Poor plot, bad acting, terrible visual effects and a joke of a shark. What more could one not want?

If you like the flashy expensive movies with state of the art technology and great special affects. Then Shark Hunter is probably not your cup of tea. But if you like a suspensful story with more emotional background to it. Then Shark Hunter is for you.It may not have a lot of special affects but it is still a great movie. It is not like the other shark movies where the shark kills man so man kills shark. This time they are trying to capture the shark for research. But they hit a couple of huge problems. Their are more than 2 people who die from the shark. Heck within the first 10 minutes the shark kills 5 people. If you like endings that are not like the rest of the the shark movies. Then wait until the last 10 minutes of this movie. See this movie and you will relize why this is a 4 almost a 5.

I rented Shark Hunter expecting a cheap and cheesy b-movie with some unimpressive monster shark stuff. On some levels I got just what I expected, but on others there where a few surprises (especially in the last thirty minutes or so). The shark looks pretty good and, surprise, behaves just like a shark. It isn't classic, just solidly made time waster fodder that is somewhat better than Octopus or Tentacles. Recommended.

This has the typical underwater movie plot. Animal of immense proportions lives relatively undiscovered in the sea. Only one person believes. Chaos ensues. I rented this one along with Dean Cain's 'Dark Descent'. First imagine my shock to find out that they are made by the same people. Not the same company, the exact same people. But that was all they had in common. This movie actually had great graphics as far as the megalodon shark was concerned. It was for the most part believable. The problem was that the story wasn't about the shark. It was about Spencer Northcutt (Antonio Sabato, Jr.) and the vendetta that had ruled his life. Basically, it was like a bad soap. I love creature features, and I love horror, but I don't like drama that pretends to be something it's not. This movie gets one star because of Grand L. Bush's t-shirt. (Well, and there was no lower option.) I would only advise renting this if you're a big fan of one of the actors.

This is a lot different from Deep Blue Sea or Shark Attack. I sort of liked the way that the shark just floated around the underwater base like a dirgible. The computer effects are better then many similar films but you don't see as much. If you like this kind of movie you should check this out once with the fast forward nearby. It's nice to see a pessimistic ending for a change.