The title of the film is cleverly called Bait, because the writers couldn't think of a clever way to work "Shark" into a title that hasn't been used. The first 23 minutes of the film establishes the characters. Josh (Xavier Samuel) is our main character. His best friend is killed in the opening scene as he is engaged to his sister. She dumps him because... it makes for a better story. While all our main characters are in a grocery store and a robbery and shoplifting is going on, a tsunami strikes bringing with it a couple of very very hungry Great Whites. The scenes bounce between a flooded store with survivors on top of shelves and the parking garage with other trapped individuals.It is a question of who will live, who will die and how high will sharks jump out of water. Kudos on the tsunami thing, but all in all it is just your average Jaws III quality film.Parental Guide: F-bombs. No sex or nudity.

The predicament in director Kimble Rendall's "Jaws" like thriller "Bait 3D" distinguishes it from the usual habitat of a standard-issue shark movie. Imagine living in sunny Australia when a tsunami strikes, and you find yourself hopelessly trapped in a flooded supermarket with a 12-foot Great White Shark cruising the aisles. Now, take that high-concept a bit further, add a second Great White, but place it into an adjoining parking lot with another group of confined folks. Preposterous and predictable throughout its 93 minutes because you know who is going to get gobbled, "Bait 3D" manages to deliver a sufficient number of thrills. The CGI effects of a Great White making the rounds and the suspense that ensues whenever somebody winds up in the water compensates for the déjà vu factor. Furthermore, the characters are slightly interesting because they have all dealt with personal hardship. The chief characters are a cute couple who would have been married and go on about their lives happily ever after had a shark not eaten one of them. Josh (Xavier Samuel of "Love & Friendship'') is set to marry his shapely sweetheart, Tina (Sharni Vinson of "Step Up 3D"), when tragedy strikes. Tina's brother Rory (Richard Brancatisano of "Alex & Eve") threw a party for Josh the day before, and Josh is recovering from a hangover from the fabulous escapade. Suffice to say, Josh is too sick to set a life buoy in the ocean. Josh and Rory are lifeguards at the local beach. Rory paddles out to do what Josh is too ill to handle, and a Great White shark munches him along with another swimmer. Josh tried to reach Rory on a Jet-Ski, and he watches in horror as his friend is chomped to bits. Now, this unfortunate event traumatizes poor Josh, and he cannot bear to look Rory's sister Tina in the eye. Ultimately, they go their separate ways, until the present-day events happen.Meantime, aside from the Josh & Tina story, Rendall and his writers, including "Highlander's" Russell Mulcaly and John Kim, have provided several other characters. First, they give us a snotty babe with an attitude, Jaimie (Phoebe Tonkin of "Tomorrow, When the War Began"), who loves to shoplift. Not only does this get her in trouble with her police, as it turns out none other than her stern, pistol-packing father Colins (Martin Sacks), but it also costs her boyfriend, Ryan (Alex Russell of "Unbroken"), his job as a security guard. While all this is going on, two guys with guns, Doyle (Julian McMahon of "Nip/Tuck") and Kirby (Dan Wyllie of "Chopper"), try to rob the supermarket and . The chief difference is that Doyle doesn't kill anybody, but Kirby shoots girl point blank in the head. The only remaining character is the supermarket manager, Jessup (Adrian Pang of "Spy Game") who complains about everything and doesn't get eaten quickly enough by the predatory Great White. All these unfortunates and a few more find themselves stranded atop the merchandise display cases while they watch the shark swim around in search of his next snack. In the parking garage nearby, Ryan struggles to help a quarreling couple, Heather (television actress Cariba Heine) and his stuck-up boyfriend Kyle (Lincoln Lewis of "After Earth"), stuck in a car with their snippy pet pooch, while that second Great White churns the water.Rendall and his writers stick with the established formula that the good people are rewarded for their behavior while the bad ones are punished. Meaning, the good guys survive while the bad guys die. The exception to the rule is Julian McMahon's character; he redeems himself during their confinement unlike his treacherous accomplice Kirby. Rendall generates more than enough suspense and this suspense is doubled because he has some genuinely sympathetic characters. The irony of everything is a supermarket is usually where humans go to find food. Now, a Great White is caught in it and it is looking for food, or as the title implies 'bait.' If you are a shark aficionado, "Bait 3D" should keep your hooked.

Australian's make great films. This is one the greatest in recent memory. My favourite Aussie flicks are Rogue, Triangle and The Reef, and now Bait 3D joins in too. The reason why I love Australian movies is because they are always character based and best of all they are interesting characters too, there's always playful banter between them or broken relationships. Bait throws a whole assortment of fun characters into a tightly packed, water filled feeding ground. A freak tsunami leaves a group of people trapped in a supermarket with a 12ft Great White Shark. Sounds over the top? Well actually the level of realism in this movie comes as a shock, because at first I thought this was a cheap straight to Blu-Ray but yet again the Australian's have proved that with strong set design, great casting and acting and nail biting tension scene you can create a realistic shark attack movie that never goes campy or unintentionally funny. Xavier Samuel and Sharni Vinson are outstanding, two great hero leads plus the rest of the cast are so exciting. There's an injured cop, two criminals, a down on his luck assistant, an argumentative couple, an ass-hole manager, old partners and shop workers, all these trapped in one room create rising tension, surprising laughs and plenty of development meaning you dig for the survival of this unlucky bunch. The 3D is brilliant, depth is apparent in every scene and the pop out effects are insane, from the actual shark jumping out at the screen as well as the supermarket shelves sprawling into the distance, this is how 3D should be and the opening beach scenes are jaw dropping! This is great fun, a must own and cannot be missed.

Going to a supermarket is never a particularly thrilling experience. There are the screaming kids begging their parents for sweets, the queues, the trolleys with the wonky wheels and of course those awful self-service checkouts that never really work. However, the one thing I've never experienced at Tesco's, is a shark swimming down the aisle, chomping at my heels.In 'Bait' we see just what happens if you let Great White sharks into your local hypermarket. It doesn't end well for anyone concerned. Great White sharks are less inclined to use clubcards and queue nicely at Customer Services departments while trying to exchange a faulty toaster; instead they tend to eat anyone who gets in their path.Bait follows a long line of so-so B-movies, all with sharks as the main threat. However, whereas most of them are pretty forgettable, this one is actually pretty watchable. You'll notice I said 'watchable' not good. Sadly, the special effects are pretty awful (CGI sharks just don't cut it) and even some of the acting is pretty wooden.However, that said, it's a fun - if incredibly silly - ride. If you think 'sharks in a supermarket' sounds like a good film, then you're probably the sort of person who can appreciate a daft little B-movie like this. But if you think it sounds totally ludicrous, then you're probably best bending a selection of wire shopping baskets all around your body in an attempt to put as much distance between you and the film as possible (seriously, that's what someone tries in Bait).Personally, I loved Bait. It was silly, cheesy, fun and totally stupid. A bit like me (I like to think, anyway). I can't wait for the sequel (yes, there's one on its way, if you believe the online rumour mill). I'm hoping this time we'll have either 'sharks in school' or 'sharks in an old people's home.' Classic. I should write those ideas down and copyright them before they're stolen!