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Great White
A.k.a: La Mort Au Large, The Last Shark, L' Ultimo squalo, Shark
Directed by Enzo G. Castellari
1980, Italy

Italian Jaws rip-off from Enzo G. Castellari is a pretty mediocre affair if it wasn't for the great camera work and a couple of rather eye opening scenes. Great White features a small seaside community called South Bay which is set to have a wind surfing competition but it seems a number of individuals are getting chewed to bits by a giant 'Great White' shark. The mayor of South Bay wants to get re-elected so he acts stubborn and stupid by endangering the lives of others by holding the competition anyway in hoping to boost his campaign. The shark eventually attacks and Vic Morrow (who tries too hard to sound like Robert Shaw and comes off sounding more like a drunk Scotsman) is hired to kill it.

Great White is not a great film and it can become slow in certain parts, I found myself tiring away from it from time to time. Although the slow motion action shots are incredible I would have liked to see a lot more than there was in the movie. Great White does rip Jaws off and in one instance Jaws 2 where a helicopter is completely sucked down into the water by the shark. The shark itself looks very cheesy and not life like during the action scenes while the other shots the shark is shown in are obviously stock or documentary footage. If you've become accustomed to appreciating rip-offs Great White will be your cup of tea and if you want more Italian monster mayhem check out Killer Crocodile.

-Richard Taylor