Banderas Faces Sharks and a Cartel in 'Above & Below'

Antonio Banderas has stepped into a shark cage, quite literally. The trailer for survival thriller “Above & Below” arrived online on July 10, and Aura Entertainment has confirmed the film reaches US theaters on July 29. The first footage is already circulating, and it plays like a collision between “Jaws” and a classic cartel drama.

This time Banderas is not the hero. He plays a cold-blooded drug cartel boss, a man who holds a group of divers hostage and forces them to retrieve a bag of cocaine from the ocean floor. The trouble is that the drugs are not the only thing waiting down there. Great white sharks are, too.

Alongside him, Laura Marano and Christina Ochoa take the lead roles. The story unfolds off the coast of Mexico, where a seemingly routine shark dive turns into a fight for survival. The divers end up trapped between two horrors: merciless criminals above and predators circling in the deep.

What does the trailer reveal?

The trailer holds nothing back. There is a yacht, an explosion, panic on deck, and a diver stuck face to face with an enormous great white. Banderas appears in a hat and with a stare that promises nothing good, the kind of villain audiences love to hate.

The tone is pure genre. There is not much philosophy here, but there is plenty of adrenaline. If you enjoyed films where people battle nature and each other at the same time, this is exactly that. The claustrophobia of the cage, the dwindling air supply and the armed men on the surface are all there to quicken the pulse.

It is worth noting that Banderas, who built his career on charm and romantic roles, has increasingly leaned into villains in recent years. Here he goes a step further, into the skin of a man without a shred of mercy.

Who is behind the camera

The film is directed by Jesse V. Johnson, a name well known to action fans. Johnson is a former stuntman who cut his teeth on set, so it makes sense that he chose a project where physical tension takes center stage. The screenplay is written by Tony Giordano.

The mix of a seasoned action director, a Hollywood star playing the bad guy and sharks lurking in the depths looks like a safe recipe for a summer box-office hit. Whether the film lives up to the hype, we will find out at the end of July, when “Above & Below” opens across US screens.

For now, the trailer has done its job. It is being shared, talked about and picked apart. And Banderas has proven that the villain suits him rather well.

Would you climb into a shark cage for a role like the one Banderas took on, or is this one of those films you watch strictly from the comfort of your couch?