Sharks in Venice (2008)

Just what I expected

A different way of telling a story

The movie is surprisingly subdued in its pacing, its characterizations, and its go-for-broke sensibilities.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Brought to Italy with news on his father, a man and his girlfriend learn the entire set-up was a ruse by local mafia-heads to assist them in locating priceless artifacts stored in local shark-infested waters and must brave the sharks to rescue her from their clutches.With a lot to like about this one and a couple of minor flaws, this one comes off as a rather impressive entry. One of the best aspects is that the film manages to get a lot of enjoyment out of it's premise, since not only is the Venice location unique enough it offers up plenty of fun times with it. Due to the unique outline of the city and its actual location put to great use here, the set-ups in the streets add a different dimension to it all with a couple of awesome attacks that can only happen in that kind of setting. The attack on the drunken couple walking along the pier or the gondola massacre are scenes that are very hard to realistically pull-off without this kind of situation to be able to handle it, and are highlights of the film. For even more fun we have two extended foot-chases through the unique streets, both featuring lots of different action tactics that make them exciting and a lot of fun. The main reason for this one, though, is the underwater action with the sharks. There's plenty of suspense, as the opening dive and a later one in the same area are just unnerving, chilling and tense being in the darkened, twisting, confusing and unknown tunnels helps, as do the murky waters and occasional bloody shark attack. We get plenty of action as well as several dives are quite interactive with the sharks that serve many nice functions along the way. With an impressive body count here not just from the sharks getting some nice brutal kills as well, these features make the film quite enjoyable. There wasn't a whole lot really wrong with this one. One of the biggest issues with the film is that there's very little to be threatened about from these sharks. Despite displaying the false characteristic of constantly growling, the constant use of stock footage that has already been used in over twenty different films is something to get over. Mixed somewhat nicely into the action, the fact remains that all of these movies feature the same footage over and over so it gets repetitive fast. That it's also mixed somewhat ineffectively with the completely false-looking heads for the attacks is something else entirely. The other flaw to this one is that the film gets really low on shark action for it's middle half. It opens and closes with some good shark action, but it decides on the Mafia subplot for those scenes, and it takes away from the shark story. Beyond an occasional attack, there isn't much mentioned about them, which does deflate the film a tad. These, though, are the film's flaws.Rated R: Graphic Violence and Graphic Language.

A B-Movie that makes a common mistake. It sidelines the perfectly ridiculous/stupid idea of Sharks in Venice, for a plot involving hidden treasure and the mafia. I didn't come here for no stale performances from humans, I wanted stock footage mixed with obvious CGI. I did get quite a bit of this, but not enough. As someone that appreciates the tacky genre, at least give me what you promise. Especially when the title is that clear. If not, then be more creative, such as "Mysteries of Venice", as this can relate to the treasure and the shark. Baldwin is a perfectly fine actor that takes, even this role, pretty seriously. There are unintentional laughs, bad accents and even epic medieval battles. It's got a lot, but not enough.

Here we have Shark in Venice, but known more commonly as Shark Attack 4. Call it whatever the heck you like, but this movie, to me and so many others, is simply a work of art.Shark in Venice is a magnificent blend of romance, drama, comedy and outstanding acting. The main character is simply one of the greatest actors we've ever seen. His fiancée is a beautiful woman whose acting talents are equal to her endless beauty. Then we have the Mafia Don, who fits the typical 'bad guy' stereotype - but he is so much more than a stereotype.The story is one of excellence and it will keep viewers, old or young, ugly or beautiful, at the edge of their seats. It is probably the greatest story mankind has ever known. It's very easy to follow and you will understand everything that happens, even if you don't! You will sweat as the cavern of death nearly kills someone, you will grip your couch as the shark nears its prey, and you will whimper as someone is launched up into the sky by a shark. All of this, will make you think you are watching the greatest movie ever.The CGI effects of the shark are outstanding and truly cutting-edge. There are absolutely no faults or animation errors with the shark. The sound effects and music are also of a high standard. You can really hear the person crying out in agony as his leg is ripped off by a hungry shark - it sounds like it's happening right next to you!My final thoughts and comments on this movie are: buy this movie NOW. What are you waiting for? Do it, do it now!

I gave it five out of ten because Shark in Venice was even worse than i thought it could possibly be and my expectations were low. The acting is non existent and not in that good way where the actors seem like they are the characters and not acting. The plot as it is, meanders along tried and tested paths leaving you wondering what exactly the number of missing persons listed in Venice each year is for them to fail to notice the disappearance of so many people. It is reminiscent of a great episode of Only Fools and Horses where Del Boy tries to sell a film script to Rodney, which is supposed to be a whodunit, involving a killer Rhino living in secret, smack bang in the middle the city of London, hiding in an abandoned garage in the back streets and coming out every night to trample, gore and even possibly eat the unsuspecting residents of Old London Town.Now lets face it, if you're serious enough about watching this movie to be even reading this comment then you're probably going to do it anyway because you're bored and like me you have a taste for B movies which involve large creatures eating people. i promise you if this film had been awful i would have given it 10 out of 10 for doing exactly what it said on the label, but this is the kind of bad which makes Anaconda look like an Oscar winner. Treat with care and enjoy whatever you can. But you were warned