Sharkwater review

Charismatic first-time director and gill geek Rob Stewart shows us it probably isn’t really that safe to go back into the water in this shark documentary, which began life as a simple wildlife film and then turned into a tale of fish battering and eco-terrorism on the high seas. The obligatory Blue Planet-style sub-aqua shots are all very much present and picturesque. But it’s when a gang of renegade environmentalists ram the side of a fishing boat, are threatened with arrest on seven attempted murder charges and make a dash for it pursued by coast guards wielding machine guns that the film really starts to picks up. Planet Earth saturation and the bludgeoning political stance pull it down, but it’s still a consistently engaging, partly thrilling look at a misunderstood species.