Nerds That Geek Movie Review: 'Bait'

Written by Scott 'Sharky' Edwards

There are things that help to define who you are as a person. Depending on how you react in different situations, people will know if they can count on you when the chips are down, or if they need to look in another direction. It does not have to be life or death situations for people to be able to get a read on what type of person you are, it can be something as simple as opening a door for someone else, or if you are willing to chase off freaking clowns lurking in the woods. The fight or flight response comes in handy when you do not have another choice, but if you are willing to put your neck on the line for someone else, well that means you might have a little hero gene inside of you.
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Heading out to take care of their buoy, friends and soon to be brothers Josh and Rory are having fun at Josh’s hungover expense. With his wedding to Tina in the not too far off future, the two have bonded and are looking forward to what life has in store for them. Taking a break with his bride to be, Josh is happy. But he is about to see that his life will forever change, and not for the better. Seeing Rory in the water as a shark is making its way towards the buoy, Josh tries everything in his power to get his friend’s attention. Not being fast enough to escape, Rory becomes another victim of a shark attack in the Australian waters.

Ryan is keeping his day low key at the grocery store when his girlfriend Jaimie is ready to celebrate their anniversary. With sticky fingers, Jaimie has picked up many fine items from the store, but little does she know that she is being watched by management today. Getting caught red handed, the police are called and Jaimie is taken into custody while Ryan gets fired. Not thinking anything else could go wrong in the store, Doyle comes in with the intent to rob the location and finds out his partner in crime is looking for more than just a payday as he is willing to take a life at very little expense. While on the other side of the store, Josh sees his love Tina return with another man in her arms and does not know if things could get any worse, and well, they can.

A surprise tsunami hits the island causing catastrophic damage to everything in its path. As cars go flying by, buildings get toppled and people become a distant memory, and the grocery store is submerged in several feet of water with a few survivors. Trying to get their wits about them, Josh tries to figure out what he can do to keep everyone safe and with the water rising, they know there are great problems that await them. Not being able to find a way out of the building, the group seems to be trapped, but that is not their only problem as a shark has been spotted making its way through the flooded isles. As time is not on their side, the group must find a way to work together and fight for their survival with the odds seemingly stacked against them.

Sharks in a supermarket just seems like an everyday occurrence to me, but I might be wrong about that.  I must admit that I would not expect as many survivors from the initial tsunami hit as there were, but it makes for a great story and plenty of people for a Great White to munch on. I liked how each character really got the same amount of screen time while their stories came to light. There are plenty of characters to like in this movie and once you get to know them, you really don’t want to see any of them be taken by the shark, but it is a shark movie, so some sacrifices must be made. With large sharks, sea life swimming through a grocery store, a lot of water, attitudes being put away, a love story, a redemption story and plenty of blood, it really is a good movie when everything is said and done. I really liked how the story played out and all of the shark attacks, because in the end, that is what a shark movie is supposed to do, tell a story and have people become just another snack. Stay Scared.

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