The Last Breath (2024) Review

 

A group of college friends reunite for a Caribbean scuba diving adventure, exploring a sunken WWII battleship. However, they become trapped in the rusted underwater maze, with great white sharks at every turn.

Joachim Heden delivers a watchable shark tale, but don't expect the likes of The Shallows, 47 Meters Down, The Reef, Open Water, or even Shark Bait, to name a few.

Andrew Prendergast and Nick Saltrese's script is talky for the first half hour, with the usual setup tropes: friends having a good time, water-shark-kill. It's drawn out, but Heden offers some tense moments in the third act, where the digital sharks look on form. The CGI is a mixed bag, at times very convincing. While not as well executed, the underwater settings are at times reminiscent of Mako (2021) and Deep Fear (2023).

There's a lot of reflection with the characters, and the melancholiness matches the odd whimsical soundtrack. Actress Kim Spearman is notable and does a great job with what she's given. Jack Parr has screen presence and is likable and memorable. The film is dedicated to the late Julian Sands, and it's a pity this is one of his posthumous films. Still, in his brief role, he acts the chops off it.

Overall, it's better than The Requin (2022) and countless other low-budget shark films out there.Does what it says on the fishy tin.