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Piranha 3D (2010) Review

Piranha 3D is a 2010 American 3D horror comedy film directed by Alexandre Aja and starring Elisabeth Shue, Steven R. McQueen, Adam Scott, Kelly Brook, and Jerry O’Connell. The film is a remake of the 1978 film Piranha, which was directed by Joe Dante.

The film follows a group of people who are terrorized by a school of piranhas while stranded on a lake. The film was released on August 20, 2010, and was a commercial success, grossing $54.7 million at the box office.

The film received mixed reviews from critics. Some praised the film’s humor and direction, while others criticized its over-the-top violence and gore.

I suppose you could sum Piranha 3D up very easily and say it’s just boobs and gore and very little else. It’s a big budget Hollywood movie that seems to have been made using the tried and true formula. There are a lot of things about Piranha 3D i like however. Firstly, the piranha’s themselves are pretty cool looking and make for a great ‘bad guy’. The boob count in this movie is enormous, I’m hard pressed to remember a Hollywood flick that showed so much skin… like ever. It’s got Richard Dreyfuss in it playing Matt Hooper, a nod to Jaws 1 there. It also has a sturdy cast including Ving Rhames, Elizabeth Shue, Jerry O’Connell, Christopher Lloyd (Doc from Back to the Future) and Eli Roth doing what appears to be a cameo. All in all the acting quality is solid and it’s about as good as it gets for this kind of movie.

Piranha has some amazing gore sequences, it’s definitely one of the goriest ‘blockbuster’ movies I’ve seen in a long time. The party scene when the piranha’s descend and start eating anything they can is just amazing. In fact without this scene the movie wouldn’t have been half as good as it was. Piranha 3D has a fair amount of suspense and even though the movie is predictable, you can’t help but get tense when the inevitable attack is coming.

Now we can move onto a more contentious issue: 3D. I’m not sure how many of you, our readers, are fans of 3D tech but personally i think it’s a gimmick. That’s just me i guess. The thing is most 3D movies are made using throw away shots that are clearly designed for the 3D experience. In 2D however, it just looks naff. We get to see milkshakes getting thrown at the screen (ooo… scary) and piranha dashing around underwater only to make one last snap directly towards the viewer. Honestly, this just comes off to me as being very naff, i really can’t say that this adds anything to the movies story/suspense at all. But again, you can decide for yourself on that one if you want to go the 3D route.

To sum up, Piranha 3D has loads of gore, boobs, boobs and more boobs. It is a fun but just not a very serious movie. It’s a popcorn, bubblegum flick and as long as you remember that, you should get some enjoyment from it.

I found Piranha 3D to be an enjoyable horror comedy. The film is packed with gore and violence, but it is also very funny. The acting is good, and the 3D effects are used effectively. I would recommend this film to fans of horror movies.

Synopsis

At Lake Victoria, thousands of tourists have flocked for the annual spring break. While enjoying the sun and water, they are unaware that a school of deadly, flesh-eating piranhas have been accidentally released into the lake. As the piranhas begin to feast on the unsuspecting tourists, the locals realize that they must take action to save themselves from becoming the next meal.

With the help of a local scientist, they devise a plan to destroy the piranhas. But as the body count continues to rise, they realize that they may be up against something even more deadly than they ever could have imagined.

As the situation spirals out of control, it becomes clear that the only way to stop the piranhas is to kill them all. But with time running out, will they be able to do it before it’s too late?

Piranha 3D is a 2010 American 3D horror comedy film directed by Alexandre Aja and written by Aja, Pete Goldfinger, and Josh Stolberg. It is a remake of the 1978 film Piranha. The film stars Elisabeth Shue, Adam Scott, Jerry O’Connell, Ving Rhames, Jessica Szohr, Steven R. McQueen, and Richard Dreyfuss.

The film follows a group of strangers who find themselves trapped in a resort town which is under attack by schools of deadly piranhas. With time running out, they must band together in order to survive.

Piranha 3D was released on August 20, 2010, and grossed $24 million at the box office. The film received mixed reviews from critics, with some praising the direction and acting, while others criticized the film’s graphic violence and humor.

Movie Details

Director: Alexandre Aja
Writer: Pete Goldfinger, Josh Stolberg
Actors: Elisabeth Shue, Jerry O’Connell, Ving Rhames
Release Year: 2010