A souless, humorless money-making exercise

Rating: 1/10 (24 September 2004)

When I first saw the trailer for SHARK TALE, I thought it looked like a rip-off of FINDING NEMO that didn't look particularly humorous. However... I went into the cinema with an open mind, armed with an eight year old (who was pretty ambivalent towards seeing it) and battled the hoads of kids present on it's third day of release.
I would love to be able to say that SHARK TALE ended up being better than expected, as I really didn't have high expectations.... but it truly is one of the few films I have seen that actually managed to live down to my expectations.
It reeks of being made by committee meeting film-making to simply cash in on the CGI boom. Technically it looks good, but it is just plain dull, unfunny and downright annoying... particularly Will Smith. Someone should tell Smith that he is incredibly annoying when playing himself (like he did in I, ROBOT), and that he should use some of the acting skills that he's proved in the past that he has.
I think the best thing Dreamworks can possibly do is to poach the entire staff of Pixar, then their next CGI film might have some heart and an actual story that is engaging on all levels... and for all ages.
I am now looking forward to seeing OPEN WATER, as I'm sure it will have a lot more laughs than SHARK TALE.