Shark Week is here, and while the ocean's top predators are getting their annual spotlight, a new film is taking the genre in a darker, more criminal direction. Above & Below hits theaters today, blending the terror of great white sharks with the ruthless violence of the cartel world. And we've got an exclusive sneak peek at Antonio Banderas in full villain mode.
The movie follows five friends on what's supposed to be the ultimate Mexican getaway: a shark dive fueled by partying and good vibes. But their dream trip turns into a waking nightmare when they accidentally stumble upon a stash of cartel cocaine. Suddenly, they're ambushed at sea and taken captive by a gang led by Banderas' character, Burns. Two of the vacationers, Tatiana and Kaley, are forced to retrieve a bag of drugs from the ocean floor—a task made nearly impossible when they're trapped in a shark cage with great whites circling and air running out. But as the clip makes clear, the sharks might be the least of their worries.
In our exclusive footage, Burns orders his henchman Martin to apologize to the friends for interrupting their dive—and then kill them. The moment the word 'kill' is uttered, both men start pleading for their lives. A gunshot rings out, and Kyle drops dead. But Burns is furious: Martin didn't apologize first. In a darkly comic moment, Burns forces Martin to go through the apology, demonstrating just how seriously he takes his twisted sense of protocol. That bickering gives another friend a chance to tackle Martin and grab his gun. For a split second, it looks like he might fight his way out—until another cartel member arrives on a second boat and guns him down without hesitation.
Banderas brings serious gravitas to the role of Burns, proving he can be just as menacing as the sharks his victims must evade. The Oscar nominee—known for his iconic turns as Puss-in-Boots in the Shrek franchise and Zorro in The Mask of Zorro, as well as his acclaimed lead performance in Pedro Almodóvar's Pain & Glory—adds a layer of unpredictable danger to the film. Joining him on the water are Laura Marano, Christina Ochoa, and Diego Llinás.
Director Jesse V. Johnson, who helmed last year's action thriller Ride or Die, takes the reins here, with a screenplay by Tony Giordano. The film arrives in a July already packed with shark-centric offerings, from Prime Video's The Devil's Mouth (about friends trapped in a flooded cave with a bull shark) to the Sharknado director's Water Park Shark. But Above & Below stands out by injecting a crime-thriller element into the usual shark horror formula.
For fans of Banderas or anyone who likes their shark movies with a side of cartel violence, Above & Below is now playing in theaters. And if you're in the mood for more underwater thrills, check out Jason Statham's shark-fighting sequel Meg 2, which is currently dominating Netflix.
