Orca

"Weak"

Orca Review


Jaws may have had a profound effect at the beaches, sending vacationers out of the water in fear of their lives... but it had the opposite effect for the hack filmmakers of the world, sending them in to the water to make cheap knockoffs.

In addition to the Jaws sequels, Orca stands at the very nadir of these "nature's killers from the sea." In its opening scenes, Orca tries to tell us that Jaws was a wuss: A killer whale smashes into a great white shark, sending him shooting 20 feet into the sky and devouring him in a foaming mess of blood. Ooh, that killer whale's one to be reckoned with, ain't he?

Captain Nolan (Richard Harris in a shameful role) doesn't much care. He wants to capture a whale for an aquarium, which will pay a quarter of a million dollars for him. Only a few minutes pass before he's shot a whale with a harpoon, killing her and their unboard whale child (a rubber prop which plops to the deck in one of the most laughable parts of the film). Nolan doesn't get his quarter million, and he gains a nemesis too: The whale's mate, who immediately goes on a rampage of smashing boats, smashing pilings, and destroying the lives of the village where Nolan has been working. The implication: Orca wants the villagers to give up Nolan and send him out to sea.

Orca posits killer whales as vengeful and hyper-intelligent, just like the whale hunter Nolan. So who's the villain here? The guy that killed the whale's mate and kid or the one that wants revenge? Don't expect anything so interesting as a morality play between the two characters; what we're left with is Charlotte Rampling as the voice of reason, explaining the mind of the whale and assuring Nolan he has no chance if he ever goes on the water again.

What we end up with is a sloppy mess from the director of Logan's Run, a collection of random scenes of violence, cut together haphazardly with what appears to be Jacques Cousteau outtakes. Bo Derek drinks a bottle of Meteus wine before the whale bites off her leg. The Orca leaps through the air repeatedly, taunting all around. The special effects are beyond awful. In the end you'll be begging for the Orca to eat everyone involved with this production.

Aka Orca: The Killer Whale.



Facts and Figures

Run time: 92 mins

In Theaters: Friday 22nd July 1977

Box Office Worldwide: $14.7M

Budget: $6M

Distributed by: Paramount Pictures

Production compaines: Dino de Laurentiis Cinematografica

Reviews

Contactmusic.com: 2 / 5

Rotten Tomatoes: 15%
Fresh: 2 Rotten: 11

IMDB: 5.5 / 10

Cast & Crew

Starring: as Captain Nolan, as Rachel Bedford, as Umilak, as Annie, as Novak, as Ken, as Al Swain, Peter Hooten as Paul, Wayne Heffley as Priester, Vincent Gentile as Gas Station Attendant, Don Barry as Dock Worker

Contactmusic


Links


New Movies

Star Wars: The Last Jedi Movie Review

Star Wars: The Last Jedi Movie Review

After the thunderous reception for J.J. Abrams' Episode VII: The Force Awakens two years ago,...

Daddy's Home 2 Movie Review

Daddy's Home 2 Movie Review

Like the 2015 original, this comedy plays merrily with cliches to tell a silly story...

The Man Who Invented Christmas Movie Review

The Man Who Invented Christmas Movie Review

There's a somewhat contrived jauntiness to this blending of fact and fiction that may leave...

Ferdinand Movie Review

Ferdinand Movie Review

This animated comedy adventure is based on the beloved children's book, which was published in...

Brigsby Bear Movie Review

Brigsby Bear Movie Review

Director Dave McCary makes a superb feature debut with this offbeat black comedy, which explores...

Battle of the Sexes Movie Review

Battle of the Sexes Movie Review

A dramatisation of the real-life clash between tennis icons Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs,...

Shot Caller Movie Review

Shot Caller Movie Review

There isn't much subtlety to this prison thriller, but it's edgy enough to hold the...

Advertisement
The Disaster Artist Movie Review

The Disaster Artist Movie Review

A hilariously outrageous story based on real events, this film recounts the making of the...

Stronger Movie Review

Stronger Movie Review

Based on a true story about the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, this looks like one...

Only the Brave Movie Review

Only the Brave Movie Review

Based on a genuinely moving true story, this film undercuts the realism by pushing its...

Wonder Movie Review

Wonder Movie Review

This film may be based on RJ Palacio's fictional bestseller, but it approaches its story...

Happy End  Movie Review

Happy End Movie Review

Austrian auteur Michael Haneke isn't known for his light touch, but rather for hard-hitting, award-winning...

Patti Cake$ Movie Review

Patti Cake$ Movie Review

Seemingly from out of nowhere, this film generates perhaps the biggest smile of any movie...

The Limehouse Golem Movie Review

The Limehouse Golem Movie Review

A Victorian thriller with rather heavy echoes of Jack the Ripper, this film struggles to...

Advertisement
Artists
Actors
    Filmmakers
      Artists
      Bands
        Musicians
          Artists
          Celebrities
             
              Artists
              Interviews