Movie Review: 'Piranha 3D' Good,Old-Fashioned "R-rated" Fun!

Thursday, 19 August 2010 22:28 Written by JimmyO

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There is a certain kind of audience that will really enjoy a movie like Piranha 3D, basically anybody going to see a movie about man eating fish. While many critics will tear it apart, like a piece of flesh in piranha infested waters, it’s hard to really trash a movie that is so ridiculously extreme. From the trailers alone, you see a bunch of hot girls on spring break with possibly hundreds of piranha attacking. From that sentence alone it’s quite clear that you are going to have nudity and gore (we’re not counting movies made for SyFy here). So get ready to hear words like ridiculous, exploitive, disgusting, sick, and even offensive. In other words, dig in because this is one of the few flicks this summer that actually delivered what it promised.

The difference between this and say, Sharktopus is clearly the budget, and the love of the movie going experience. Even the 3D, with some of it conversion and some shot that way, is mostly fun times. Yes it is still a gimmick, but it sure is amusing when done right. And you know what else makes a big difference here? The cast! Elisabeth Shue, Richard Dreyfuss, Christopher Lloyd, Ving Rhames, Adam Scott, Jerry O’Connell and so many more elevate this man vs. nature tale to another level. So yes, this could have been a disaster, but director Alex Aja made the film he wanted to make, the way he wanted to make it.

As far as plot goes, it’s not all that complicated. An earthquake unleashes some nasty prehistoric piranha and all hell breaks loose. Of course it all happens when the lake is being populated by hot college girls ready to drop their tops for “Wild, Wild Girls” creator Derrick Jones (Jerry O’Connell). Again with the 3D, but Piranha opens up the curtains and throws everything and anything your way. A girl puking over the side of the boat, a man’s genitalia floating by, and of course, breast aplenty. Sure the 3D isn’t always perfect, but when it works, it works well enough to get a little grossed out.

When it comes to gore, Alex Aja sure knows how to have fun with that. The aftermath of a particularly vicious attack looks a little bit like the opening of Saving Private Ryan. It’s a bloody mess. People ripped apart, bodies chewed in half and a couple of unlucky ladies lose their tops… halves that is. Yet it never feels disgusting or so gruesome that it is hard to watch. The blood and gore makes sense and unlike the original 1978 film Piranha you aren’t seeing a bunch of children at a summer camp get butchered, but both films have their charm. This isn’t necessarily a remake, just another movie with killer piranha. The two flicks would make for a pretty amazing double feature!

Piranha 3D is just plain entertaining. Elisabeth Shue, Adam Scott and Steve R. McQueen are all terrific. And yes, Kelly Brook is actually really good here, and I’m not just talking about her fearlessness when it comes to nudity. She is gorgeous, but she is also very charismatic. Of course, her underwater love scene with Riley Steel is a cinematic masterpiece for every single horny young man out there. Actually, fearless is a good word for this flick because it’s not afraid to go all the way. Yes, Piranha 3D keeps its promise and offers some good, old-fashioned “R-rated” fun!