Writer: Mark Atkins (Screenplay)
Starring: John Savage, Jack Armstrong, Thandi Sebe, Ashley De Lange, Leandie du Randt, Tauriq Jenkins
Plot: On a future earth where 98% of the surface is underwater, a Warlord who controls an army of sharks meets his match when he captures the daughter of a mysterious shark caller.
Tagline – Mankind just dropped down on the food chain.
Runtime: 1 Hour 29 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Verdict: Syfy Standard
Story: Empire of the Sharks starts as we enter the world covered in water, warlord Ian Fien (Savage) controls the communities demanding supplies and anyone that crosses his path will fall to his army of sharks he has control over.
When he takes Willow (Lange), Timor (Armstrong) her guardian sets out to rescue her with Sion (Sebe) by his side, to take on the Warlord to bring peace to the local area.
Thoughts on Empire of the Sharks
Characters – Ian Fien is the ruthless warlord that has control over the sharks which he uses to terrorise the communities in the open water. He has a plan to stay ahead of the game, but this time he might finally meet his match. Timor has sworn to protect Willow, once she is taken he will go out of his way to build a team to take down the warlord, he does show his naivety when searching for a team though, not willing to get as dirty with his ideas as needed. Willow could well have the power to control the sharks and bring peace to the waters with her ability, she just needs to learn how the master this ability, something Ian wants off her too. Mason is the member of Ian’s team that goes to the outposts to collect, he shows us just how twisted the men will be.
Performances – The performances from the whole cast are not going to be getting any awards, they are mostly poor, with Jack Armstrong struggling to make the impact needed for his character, John Savage and Jonathan Pienaar do enjoy being the villainous characters though.
Story – The story here shows us one young man that decides he has had enough of the terror filled reign of the warlord in a water world and sets out to bring him down. There is a side story about being able to control the sharks to make battles easier to achieve with whoever has power can control the oceans. This does follow the check list easily with the unlikely team working together with each of their own quirks that makes them stand out in their own way, the idea of the planet being overrun by water with warlords and workers is what we have seen before.
Action/Horror – The action we see in this movie comes from most of the CGI shark attacks, we don’t get anything that is going to be memorable for the good reason. The film doesn’t use the horror elements either because next to nothing in this film is remotely scary.
Settings – The film is set in out in the ocean as Earth is covered by water, this does help with the idea of sharks being the danger otherwise it could have just been a beach moment.
Special Effects – We have seen syfy films, we know the level of effects and don’t go in there looking for the best.
Scene of the Movie – The final battle.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – Timor isn’t strong enough of a character.
Final Thoughts – We have seen syfy films, this fits in nicely in that collection, it isn’t great, it isn’t terrible its just fine.
Overall: Syfy 101
Rating