Lo and behold, we have a new shark movie! The Last Breath, directed by Joachim Heden, is like any other old shark movie (and unfortunately, not like Jaws) where a group of people go underwater, and you know the rest. Some die and some survive—yes, that’s basically how the story goes. This movie does offer the usual thrill of a shark movie, though, as the underwater sequences are pretty well constructed. There shouldn’t be any confusion over the ending as such, but we’re still going to look into that here in this article.
Spoilers Ahead
What Happens in the Movie?
It has to start with a shark attack, and The Last Breath doesn’t disappoint on that front in its opening sequence. However, sharks are not at the forefront here. A WW II-era ship is destroyed by a torpedo. Two men, Jimmy and Brian, survive, but they are unfortunate enough to become shark chum.
Cut to the present. Noah, the de facto hero of the story, and Levi, an older seaman, are running a diving business in the Caribbeans. Well, Levi is the owner, and Noah is the employee, but the two seem to share a master and apprentice sort of bond. As it happens, they’re actually looking for the “Charlotte,” the same ship that got destroyed in the opening scene. Considering the history, the ship (and the wreckage) has a lot of value, if it’s ever found. And Noah just stumbles on it during a regular dive. Levi is delighted, and so is Noah—their fortunes are about to change. But before that, Noah’s college friends are here, for a reunion, and to become food for sharks eventually (I’m so sorry but I couldn’t help myself)!
Why Does Noah Decide To Take His Friends To See Charlotte?
Noah’s friends are, quite obviously, stock shark movie characters. There’s rich guy Brett, who immediately gets on your nerves, and you can’t wait for the shark to spill this dude’s blood. Brett’s sister, Sam, is Noah’s ex, who still has feelings for him (and he has the same for her) that ensures higher survival chances. There’s this other girl, Riley, who may or may not survive. Then there’s this fun stoner guy, Logan, who seems to have the IQ of a five-year-old, which only means the guy’s going to lose his precious life pretty soon, unless there’s a miracle.
Even though Noah was not supposed to talk about the Charlotte to anyone (he himself is seen telling that to Levi a while ago), he ends up sharing the good news with his friends. That prompts Brett to immediately persuade Noah to take them all to see the wrecked ship. They all have diving experience, so it shouldn’t be a problem. And despite Noah and Levi turning down Brett, we know for a fact it’s going to happen—one way or the other. With Levi’s business in a terrible financial state, Noah has no other option but to take Brett and the others to the Charlotte and earn $50,000 in return—which would effectively solve all the problems.
What Goes Wrong Underwater?
It’s all happy and good in the beginning—like always. Levi quietly knitting on the boat, Doctor Sam noticing and having a chat with him regarding how the activity helps relax nerves, Brett just being the alpha, and Logan, still hungover but fully confident about going underwater. Noah is a bit jittery, which is understandable given he has Brett and Logan around. And given how Logan just jumps off without properly fixing his water gear, Noah has every reason to be worried.
It doesn’t take long for the group to reach the Charlotte. They’re all stunned, looking at the whole thing. Anyway, Noah doesn’t want the group to go beyond the point he went to yesterday, but Brett obviously doesn’t want to listen. He has to go deeper (oh well), and since he’s paying the money, Noah can’t say no. So they make their way into the lost ship and go two levels down. The first freak out happens when the guideline thread breaks all of a sudden. However, Noah assures them that he remembers the way and will take them back to safety. But he clearly didn’t see a shark coming out of nowhere and spoiling the plan. The first victim is Logan, who loses almost half one of his legs. Sam tries her best to save him, but the effort goes in vain. The group can’t believe what has just happened. Brett expectedly starts blaming Noah, calling him a loser and whatnot, and even lauding Sam for breaking up with him. It’s not surprising because Brett is the designated annoying jerk in this movie, but the makers could have gone a bit creative, maybe. Anyway, using Logan’s body as bait to throw the shark off their tail is a nice touch, I would say. Sadly, it doesn’t quite work. Then there’s this recurring problem of Riley’s oxygen getting dangerously low.
Do Noah and Sam survive?
You’ve got to feel bad for Riley. She’s the nice recurring character that you want to survive, but the moment her oxygen tank story arc is introduced, you know she won’t. She does get some of the coolest moments of The Last Breath, though, from luring the shark with her blood and trapping it in the cage. Sadly, there’s more than one shark. Just when you think Noah, Sam, and (most importantly) Riley might finally make it, Riley is taken away by a shark. Noah can’t do anything with an already injured arm, so Sam does the best possible thing she can, making sure Noah is safe. She then goes on to fearlessly kill a shark with a makeshift spear, which is easily the coolest scene of the movie.
Meanwhile, I didn’t think Brett would manage to find his way out of the water, but he just does. Unfortunately for him, he fails to reach Levi’s boat as one of the sharks decides that Brett’s number’s come up. What’s even worse is Levi continuously calling him “Ben” instead of his actual name. This is a running gag throughout the movie, which loses juice after a while, but it seems like they want to keep doing it till the last breath (look what I just did). Anyway, the only good thing Brett manages to do is alert Levi about what’s going on. It had to come down to Levi saving the day! With an injured Noah begging him to save Sam, Levi has to go down in his red diving gear. The man used to be known as the “Red Torpedo,” after all. It’s quite sad that he has to lose his life to a shark, which would effectively help Sam to get away. It’s sadder if you consider the fact that this is actor Julian Sands’ final movie role before his tragic death on a hiking trip.
Anyway, The Last Breath ends with Noah and Sam reuniting and having a cute baby after a while, which they’ve named Levi—as they should. Noah’s arm is still injured, most likely a permanent thing. But he now has his family by his side and is certainly not going under the water anymore—unless a sequel compels him to.
