Eagle Vs. Shark

This is Taika Waititi’s first feature length film, and although it isn’t perfect, there’s a lot of Waititi’s charm that shows in this movie. I’ll start out by stating the obvious, I am a huge Taika Waititi fan. So, I’m going to go through all of his movies, update the ones I’ve already reviewed, and add the ones I haven’t. I have a huge bias with these, as Taika Waititi made Jojo Rabbit, my favorite movie of all time. But, with that out of the way, I’ll get on to Eagle Vs. Shark. Eagle Vs. Shark is a love story, but one that takes place in a very real world. Basically, without all the young adult nonsense so many films find necessary nowadays. This is where this film finds its purpose. It’s interesting how, boiled down, almost any director’s style is evident with their first movie in its finest form, due to the director not being forced to constantly negotiate with the studio. This is especially prominent with Eagle Vs. Shark. Taika Waititi’s form of comedy is all based around things that everyone has experienced, making everything in the film real to the audience. Eagle Vs. Shark takes this real world comedy, and heightens it. Lily, the protagonist, is an incredibly socially awkward young woman struggling with finding her place in the world. Meanwhile, Jarrod is comically over-confident, even though, he truly has the exact same problems. These characters work well together, which makes this real world feel lived in. The characters make sense due to the acting which, while I did like, I found a little stiff at times. Thus causing the second act to feel a little slow to me. I really enjoyed the first and last act, but it seemed that nothing of major importance happened in the second act. So, while I enjoy the characters/world and the dialogue, I think that the overall production value and sometimes slow pace dampens my liking of the movie. But, none of that can affect the fact that this is a great film that is a must see for any Waititi fans. 7.9/10