Piranha2010

Piranha (2010)

I knew this movie would be good when it started with Richard Dreyfuss out in a little boat fishing. It just got better from there. The storyline has several different subplots woven into it and there is actually a lot going on there. Sheriff Forester (played by Elizabeth Shue) and deputy Fallon (Ving Rhames) are figuring out that killer piranha are on the loose in the lake. They are eventually aided by a group of diving paleontologists and Mr. Goodman (Christopher Lloyd!), a pet shop owner/fish expert, who just happens to have a fossilized version of the piranha in question in his office to compare the live specimen they bring him to. In the meantime, Sheriff Forester’s son, Jake, goes off with Derrick Jones (Jerry O’Connell) and his filming crew for Wild Wild Girls (a spoof of Girls Gone Wild) to scout out locations for them to shoot their “film”. Jake leaves his little brother and sister behind, who promptly canoe out to some lonely little island on the lake and then become stranded. There are two climaxes in the film, one of which is when Sheriff Forester and her deputies unsuccessfully try to get the spring break kids out of the water so they don’t get eaten by bloodthirsty piranha‘s (It’s one of the best bloodbaths in any movie ever) and the other when she tries to save her family from a sinking boat surrounded by the same hungry piranhas.

I love creature features and this is one of the best I’ve seen. Its got all the cheesy goodness of the old B movies but with a kickass budget and cinematic know how behind it. It’s got an all-star cast (how many of these types of flicks can say that) and some new talent that is just as good, including some really good kid actors. The soundtrack was pretty good and helped make the flick even better. The storyline was perfect for a movie like this and who cares if it didn‘t always make perfect sense, it moved the movie along and didn‘t detract from the action or gore. Speaking of gore, there is plenty of it in this movie. Along with some really good (and pretty bad) CGI there are also some awesome practical effects. There were some pretty fun and creative gory effects as well, they weren’t all just fish eating people, though I had seen some of these effects in other movies, it was still fun to see them again all together. The movie also mixes in a good deal of humor along with the effects and I know John was especially joyful over a scene where a disembodied male member was munched on by the hungry fish. It’s not exactly highbrow humor they were going for here. The movie also has it’s fair share of tits and ass. Set during a huge spring break party it doesn’t have any trouble justifying shaking booties and bared boobies. There’s even a 5-minute scene of gratuitous nudity as two hot chicks swim around underwater frolicking with each other. This is probably the main reason for me that this is not a family friendly movie. I didn’t see the film in 3D but that didn’t matter much. It was still good and I could tell where the 3D gimmicky scenes were, thankfully they didn’t detract from the movie.

I really have to recommend this movie. It’s not something you want to watch if you are in the mood for super serious, but it’s a great movie to just sit back and enjoy when you are in the mood for a campy funny gore fest. It’s not for the faint of heart or prudes, but I don’t think many of those types care what we say on Gutmunchers.com anyway. So watch this movie and I hope you enjoy it, I think you will.

3 ½ out of 4

reviewed by Scott Schwarzwalder