Top 5 Shark Films To Watch In Preparation Of ‘Shark Week’ 2023

TV & Film

Jul 12

Shark Week 2023 — Image Source: *Discovery*

One of the best things about July is Shark Week, Discovery’s week-long celebration of all things Sharks. The celebration started in July of 1988 and has been going strong for more than three decades! The focus of Shark Week is to educate people on the reality of sharks, their history, and their vital role within our oceans. Shows may focus on shark attack survivors, the breaching habits of great whites, conservation efforts, or mockumentaries that explore the possibility of the Megalodon still existing deep in our oceans. This year’s celebration will be hosted by none other than Aquaman himself, Jason Momoa, and will hit Discovery Channel and Max on July 23! As we excitedly await the return of Shark Week, here is my shark movie watchlist.

5. Saving Jaws (2019)

This is one of the most fascinating documentaries I have ever seen. The film follows “Shark Whisperer” Ocean Ramsey as she and her team set out on a 12-month journey to research great white sharks, their habitat, their impact on our ecosystems, and what is causing them to inch closer to extinction each year. This documentary is so cool because it features athletes and celebrities going on free dives (no cages) with Ocean and great white sharks to show that they are not the mindless killers so many believe them to be.

Saving Jaws is available to stream on Amazon Prime.

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4. Shark Night (2011)

This is one of my favorite shark movies because, at times, it feels more like a slasher film than your typical shark movie. The film follows a group of seven college friends who decide to spend the weekend at their friend's lake house in the Louisiana Gulf. After a bit of fun, one of their friends loses his arm in what they believe is a freak accident. They quickly find that someone has released 15 different species of sharks into the lake, and they will have to fight both sharks and humans if they are going to live through the night. The most interesting thing about this movie is that while some sharks can live in freshwater, especially the bull shark, which can go as far as 2000 miles upstream in freshwater and live normally, this film introduces people to a multitude of shark species that we don’t typically hear anything about.

Shark Night is available to stream on Max.

3. Deep Blue Sea (1999)

This is one of the best shark movies ever made, and it includes one of the best moments in any Samuel L. Jackson film. On an isolated research vessel in the middle of the ocean, a group of scientists are searching for a cure for Alzheimer’s disease. They find that by enlarging the sharks’ brains, they can retrieve more of a compound that can be used to make a drug that will help treat and potentially cure the disease. Unfortunately, things go wrong, and as the sharks begin to hunt the researchers, a massive storm hits their facility, forcing them to stay and fight.

Deep Blue Sea is available to stream on Max.

2. The Meg (2018)

This is one of my favorite shark movies, and I am so excited about the sequel! A group of scientists attempting to explore the mostly unexplored Marianas Trench is attacked by a Megalodon, leaving a small group of their people trapped at the bottom of the ocean. Naval Captain Jonas Taylor is brought in to help, and everything goes wrong. This movie is really cool because, unlike most of the movies on this list, the shark(s) doesn’t stay in one place. The Megalodon starts traveling away from the research and towards a crowded nearby beach, forcing the team to follow it.

The Meg is available to stream on Max.

1. Jaws Franchise (1975-1987)

I love the entire Jaws franchise, and I genuinely think that the later films don’t get enough credit for how good they are. The original film follows a sheriff, marine biologist, and local fisherman who agree to track down a great white shark that has been wreaking havoc on the small coastal town of Amity Island. Jaws 2 follows the Brody family, who have decided to stay in Amity after the first film's events. Things have been quiet until Sheriff Brody’s sons decide to go sailing with their friends, and they are attacked by another great white shark. Jaws 3 is my second favorite in the franchise, but I will give a fair warning that the graphics are terrible because the film was made for 3D viewing. The film follows the Brody sons as one works and the other visits Sea World Orlando. A juvenile great white shark gets trapped in a dolphin pin at the park and dies when the crew does not release it back into the ocean. Its massive 35-foot mother breaks into the pin in search of her baby and ends up wreaking havoc on the park. Jaws: The Revenge is a blast, even though it is the weakest film in the franchise. After the events of the third film, the Brody sons have gone their separate ways, with one returning to Amity Island to take over his late father’s role as sheriff and the other working as a researcher in the Caribbean. A few days before Christmas, the sheriff is killed by a great white shark, and his mother believes that the shark is seeking revenge for the other sharks that her family killed in the first three films. She travels to the Caribbean to be with her only living son and soon finds herself in a fight for survival against, you guessed it, a great white shark.

All four Jaws films are available to stream on Peacock.

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