“I’ve dealt with fools before, but you set a new standard.”
Probably the main thing to know about Above & Below, directed by Jesse V. Johnson, is that it is being released to coincide with Shark Week (although it is not officially a part of Shark Week). Those who are fascinated by the apex predators of the deep may be attracted to the blood, but perhaps not to the story itself.
Two couples (and the ne’er-do-well brother of one of the girls) are off on a fun vacation to Mexico. When the brother loses everything he has at a poker game, the winner of the hand gives him some consolation with a fun shark-cage cruise. It looks like it will be a wonderful time, except for the two thugs who join the cruise at the last minute.
Of course, one of the thugs is a bit of a jerk, which will eventually lead to trouble, especially when the poker winner (played by Antonio Banderas) shows up on his own boat to complete a drug deal with the thugs. Since, trouble has begun, he wants no loose ends, so there is more conflict, all of which happens with the two young women are down in the shark cage with makos and great whites swimming around. The two women have to try to stay safe, but the air tanks will run out. Through various countdowns and attack (by sharks and bad guys) they have to try to survive.
It’s your basic race-against-time thriller, but it is built around a load of bad choices being made, mindless killers, smart killers, and brave women. The fatality rate among the people on the boat is over sixty percent. (There is also a dead shark.)
I will say that Banderas makes his character a bit interesting. Here is a cartel boss who, although ruthless, wants to seem like a good guy. His gifting the poker loser with a lavish trip (although it turns out badly) is generous. He is the kind of guy who makes his underling apologize for a mistake before killing someone. On the other hand, it’s hard to understand why someone as smart as he is would hire someone as stupid as the one thug that starts all the problems.
The analogy that we are suppose to find here is that there are two-legged sharks as well as those in the sea. However, that does a disservice to the sharks that swim. They are doing what comes naturally—and even keeping the world they inhabit in balance. We do not apply morality to great whites. But the merciless killers that breathe air are certainly worthy of contempt.
Above & Below can be seen in select theaters.
