Review of Piranha 3D (2010) by Robert M — 24 Jun 2012

The beginning is awful. The middle is fine. And then the end is a bloody good time! The first scene is just ridiculous, and is more suited to the second half, and it shows that this movie means to be a bad movie. But after that a feeling of disappointment struck as I started seeing the same old stuff from any other horror movie happening, and it didn't feel like they were ardoying it any more, but actually trying to make a genuine horror movie, which felt a bit off and unamusing.

It did seem to take a while for the Piranhas to get into the story, and I found myself thinking I am watching this movie just to see Piranhas eating people in ridiculous ways, and that I don't care about the character's back stories- I know this is wrong, but it is what I felt throughout.the first 20 minutes, it never got that gory. the script is obviously going to be poor, but it wasn't funny at the beginning, because it was just setting up the movie, so it started with a drag, slowly getting in gear.

Then at the middle mark things start to pick up, as soon as it gets to sprink break, the beginning, things start to get crazy, naked playboy models etc, you get the idea. Then the laughs start to roll, and things start to pick up, and after a great cameo from Back to the Future's own Christopher Lloyd, who puts everything into it, the piranhas start to come, and it slowly builds up, and the violence builds up then the last 30 minutes or so happen, and it was some of the most fun I had seen on screen for a while.

There is an amazing set piece which includes hundreds of spring break idiots in the water, enormous swarm of piranhas, and lots of blood and gore, and a lot of sinking boats and floating stages, which also sink. It is like watching a mini-apocalyptic movie, and it seemed to resemble othermovies like Snakes on a Plane, where, although there is a horrifying event occuring, thhey deal with it with such violence, that is just so funny.

The violence in this movie is handled so well, in the way that the violence is so ridiculous, that although it is gross to look at, it is not like Saw, so that it puts you off the movie, it is almost like watching a cartoon. This movie reminded me of Machete a lot, as it went back to this idea of creating almost an exploitation flick, and making it as over the top as possible. There are being losing limbs, and running out of the see with just bones for legs, and there is one pretty disgusting moment where a womens face gets pull off from a boat motor, after her hair getting stuck in it. But what must be remembered is that this movie is made to entertain, and these bits of violence aren't looked on to really show them in great torture, but to show the ludricousy of the situation. Again, this is not Saw or Final Destination.

Some of the acting wasn't terrible, and people like Elizabeth Shue just played their characters in this playful fashion, so that there was this seriousness to the role, but it was almost like she was aware how ridiculous the movie was, and just made the most of it, and just went full out. I really enjoyed the movie from about 30 minutes from the end, where I was really having a blast, and I just was left wisihing that the movie that had followed before, ahd been up to the same pace, as it just dragged a bit, and was a bit too cheesy for the particular setting.

The direction of the movie was pretty good, and probably his best, and he actaully had some pretty good control of how the big set pieces would be put together. I liked the way that they didn't try so hard to make the movie scary, as, in my opinion, I don't think that is what the movie was made for. It has a few cheap jump scares, but I was fine for it, as that almost summed the movie up. It knows it is campy and ridiculous, so why not? That is what the movie points at- lets have giant piranhas, why not? Let's have Christopher Lloyd in the movie- why not? The movie does it's job of being a B-movie, but does take itself too seriously inplaces, and seems to forget what it really is, but when the piranhas finally come, they really do kill.