Empire of the Sharks (2017)

This movie is really "Waterworld" rehashed, with some fantasy and sharks thrown in. The shark movie genre can be said to be bad, but so bad they are good and a bit of fun to watch. Unfortunately this movie doesn't fit into that slot and is just bad on so many levels.

Have made no secret in the past of intensely disliking, and even outright hating a lot, a vast majority of The Asylum's and SyFy's (near-universally maligned for good reason) output, though there is curiosity as to whether they are capable of making something good and compulsive about their output's badness. Admittedly, both The Asylum and SyFy do have a small group of watchable films and the occasional (big emphasis on that word) above average one, unfortunately outweighed by the lacklustre at best and often dreadful films they churn out.Before anybody gets defensive, am well aware that films like 'Empire of the Sharks' are not ones to be taken seriously. Have seen my fair share of low-budget shark films, and any other kind of low-budget creature film, and will admit to finding some guilty fun in some of them (i.e. the first two 'Sharknado' films). There are far worse shark films, but is that an endorsement or saying much? Not really. Take no pleasure in rating films low or leaving negative reviews. Actually always aim to be an encouraging and perceptive reviewer, and 1/10 ratings are extremely rare.Sadly 'Empire of the Sharks' is just too amateurish to accept as a guilty pleasure, where nearly everything is just poor quality that it's insulting and there is nowhere near enough fun, intentional or unintentional, moments. Was not expecting anything intelligent here, am well versed now to know that it is not that kind of film, but it does feel like it was made by somebody who didn't know how to give a film brains, so much so that it'll make the viewer feel dumb and that is not a nice sensation to feel watching a film.Cheapness and ridiculousness were taken to extremes here in 'Empire of the Sharks'. Some marginally intriguing, if very silly, ideas but comes off so far-fetchingly that it is impossible to take things for what they're intended to be let alone take them seriously. The whole shark-caller stuff was even sillier than it sounds.Visually, even when knowing what to expect, 'Empire of the Sharks' still looks really cheap. Any nice scenery that the movie has is difficult to appreciate when the movie is shot in such a drab way and when it's edited so amateurishly that bacon-slicer-like editing looks more refined. Worst of all in this regard are the effects, as it was made on low-budget it would have been forgiven a little if it was not great, but when the effects for the sharks look as if no effort was given in making them without looking so goofy and unfinished-looking that is hard to ignore.No better news about the sharks' personalities. Not menacing or fun, they're basically bland and for titular creatures they don't feature in the film anywhere near enough. The shark action is nothing to write home about, not enough of it and easily forgettable with no suspense or even unintentional humour.Writing ranges between incredibly bad to appalling. Any comedy is incredibly forced and is so cheesy it is enough to make the eyes roll in disbelief, while the more serious moments are very awkwardly written and as trite as anybody can possibly go. To describe the story as weak is being too insulting to the word weak, it is a very lethargically paced and thin as ice story with lots of padding that is either badly written or serves no point at all to the movie, other than attempts at novelty value, which falls flat on its face because it all feels so tired. It is not fun, it is not scary and it is not thrilling or suspenseful, it's just nothing but tired stupidity, with silly ideas being ridiculous and muddled in execution.As for the characters, they are a mix of bland and annoying. Particularly one of the hammiest villains in recent memory. The acting ranges from bored to over-compensating, Jonathan Pienaar is irritating beyond belief especially. Summing up, awful. 1/10 Bethany Cox

"Empire of the Sharks" its about what you would expect from a Mark Atkins Asylum film. This sequel to "Planet of the Sharks" maintains the spirit many direct to video or TV Asylum movies have had since they started. Its cheaply made, it has some awful acting (most of the acting is bad but it has a few good performances), its absurd and the filmmaking its incompetent but part of me thinks that's intentional.Mark Atkins got better since "Halloween Night (2006)" which was a delightfully bad "Haloween" rip off, while its is better than that, its still not good in any way, shape or form. You really need to be in the right mood when you watch an Asylum film, just relax and try to enjoy the movie for all of its flaws, most of the time its not rewarding but maybe you can get a couple of laughs out of it, its hard to find one that actually deserves to be seen and "Empire of the Sharks" certainly isn't.

In a post-apocalyptic future, a group of humans growing tired of their subservience to a warlord who controls a group of man-eating sharks sets out to stop him when they realize he's taken hostage a member of their colony that can also control the sharks.This here wasn't all that bad of a post-apocalyptic shark film. One of the better elements here is the fact that this one goes for the more traditional route of the creature feature genre. The setting of the future with the floating fortresses and the future technology present give this a great build that's part of the storyline here revolving around the search for water controlled by the warlord. This gives the film a kind of starting point that provides the film with the kind of action that works well here, from the opening scenes of the raid on the village giving this one a great burst with their abduction tactics as well as the use of the sharks, the aborted rescue attempt that forces the retreat back into the submarine where they get chased away and the later scenes of them inside the compound trying to figure out the different powers she possesses by having her interrupt their treatments manages to provide this one with the kind of stylistic scenes usually featured here. The attempt to breach the fortress is a lot of fun with the layered attack featuring plenty of different modes of attack giving this one a great build as the different parts being exercised throughout here allow for a great sequence, and when placed with the fantastic finale where they manage to put their plan into action to finally save them is a spectacular finish here that melds the post- apocalyptic action with the sharks into a rather big finale. Continually featuring the sharks or the attempts to rescue the group means this one moves along really nicely and gives this a lot to really like that holds this up over its minor flaws. The main issue to be had here is the fact that there's just so little traditional shark action here with the post-apocalyptic setting that it might potentially turn off more looking for traditional fare. Giving this that setting provides this one with the rather different tone than most others and sets up the different kinds of scenarios that really don't provide the kind of typical virtues here that gives this a different feel. Likewise, the film has way too much lame CGI that provides rather comical scenes here with the sharks under orders from both parties that fill up the screen and really highlight the low-budget with their obvious usage. Still, this one has a lot to really like.Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Violence and Language.