The sense of realism in Netflix’s record-breaking shark movie makes it hard not to see how Jason Statham’s $922 million franchise is its wackier cousin. In a career spanning over three decades, Jason Statham has starred in several box-office hits. While most of his movies are driven by slambang action scenes, he has explored other genres with movies like Snatch and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. However, even though he has dipped his feat in myriad genres, he has achieved most of his success from his roles in action franchises and standalone flicks.
One of these franchises has earned an astounding $922 million at the global box office, highlighting the enormous appeal of Jason Statham’s action-packed roles. While this franchise is unique in more ways than one, a closer look at it suggests that it is just a crazier version of a recent Netflix shark movie. Despite being far more tame than the Jason Statham movie franchise, the Netflix survival thriller has broken some impressive records.
Netflix’s Under Paris Is A More “Realistic” Shark Movie Than The Meg
Under Paris Backs Its Fictional Elements With Real Science
Shark movies rarely aim for realism and focus more on keeping audiences at the edge of their seats with their over-the-top portrayal of gigantic underwater predators. For instance, The Meg movies seemingly care little about portraying the real science surrounding the Megalodon sharks and try to captivate audiences with exaggerated scenarios and slam-bang action sequences. Netflix’s Under Paris also has moments that stretch a viewer’s suspension of disbelief a little too far. However, the movie still puts in the effort to explain the logic behind its sci-fi developments.
Even though the Mako sharks portrayed in Under Paris cannot survive in freshwater in the real world, the film explains that its central shark has evolved into a whole new species, allowing it to survive in the Seine River. The film also uses a real scientific concept called parthenogenesis to explain how its central shark reproduces asexually to raise its underwater army. Under Paris takes several creative liberties with its portrayal of these scientific concepts. However, it is hard not to appreciate how the film tries to ground itself in realism instead of treading the same path as most modern shark thrillers.
Why Under Paris Was So Successful On Netflix
Its Realism, Setting, & Positive Word Of Mouth Contributed To Its Success
According to Netflix’s data (via Tudum), Under Paris ranks third among the most popular non-English films on the platform, with a total viewership of 96,900,000 and a viewing time of 167,900,000 hours. One of the biggest reasons why the film has been so successful on the streamer is that it makes good use of its limited setting and timeline. Instead of featuring massive set pieces, Under Paris presents scenes where its characters are trapped with sharks in confined spaces. This effectively raises the overarching tension in the film’s story without blowing up its budget.
Under Paris also enhances its realism by drawing references to several real-world environmental issues and concerns.
Under Paris also premiered on Netflix a month before the beginning of the Summer Paris Olympics, which effectively made its final arc even scarier. Towards the ending moments of Under Paris, the central sharks sabotage a swimming race by devouring several unsuspecting triathletes in the Seine River. Although sharks could never sustain themselves in the river in the real world, the movie’s shark threat feels real because it unfolds in a real-world sports event in the film’s fictional world. Under Paris also enhances its realism by drawing references to several real-world environmental issues and concerns.
Apart from its real-world allusions, Under Paris also benefited from its positive word-of-mouth. Although it has a fairly average Tomatometer score of 63% and an underwhelming audience score of 31%, many compared it with Steven Spielberg’s magnum opus, Jaws. This prompted audiences to check it out. Stephen King, too, gave it his stamp of approval by saying that it is “really quite good” and its last 25 minutes are “amazing.” The King of Horror’s praise further elevated the movie’s popularity, allowing it to become one of Netflix’s most popular films.
The Meg’s Silliness Is Part Of The Jason Statham Franchise
The Franchise’s Over-The-Top Action Adds To Its Appeal
Despite being way wackier and less realistic than Under Paris, Jason Statham’s The Meg franchise is no less compelling. Even though both Meg movies have been panned by critics, they have performed well at the box office. Their commercial success proves that silliness contributes to their overall appeal. Audiences may expect more realism and scientific jargon when they watch shark movies like Netflix’s Under Paris. However, they clearly expect a movie, like Jason Statham’s The Meg, to deliver only high-octane action and bizarre human and shark face-offs that can never happen in the real world.