Deep Blue Sea

Deep Blue Sea
by Renny Harlin

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• Deep Blue Sea: Music From The Motion Picture

DVD Reviews of Deep Blue Sea

DVD Review: Too flawed to be non-stop fun.
Summary: 2 Stars

Alas, it was not to happen, and I should have known. After all, even though Renny Harlin can prove himself skillful in directing action sequences, he fails to inject genuine suspense and often goes too far over-the-top in a movie that mostly takes itself seriously. This is not Lake Placid (which is quite a good thing). Deep Blue Sea isn't terrible by a long shot, but it's not the breakneck paced thriller I was hoping for.

Dr. Susan McAlester (Saffron Burrows) is in the process of creating a cure for Alzheimer's Disease. With the help of a crew working in an underwater habitat, they use the brain material of sharks to get this job accomplished. However, the side effect was that the sharks (3 of them) grew smarter as a result of the experimentation, and they break loose, creating hell as they begin to prey on the group of survivors, who are trying to find a way to get topside.

Deep Blue Sea is a movie that should have been dripping with suspense and action from every corner. Instead, what we get is the occasional "jump-in-your-seat" shark attack that only offers momentary jolts. Oh, don't get me wrong, there are some exciting moments, but not enough to cover the entire running time of 105 or so minutes.

This is director Renny Harlin we're talking about, who's made almost nothing but big-budget duds (Cutthroat Island, Cliffhanger, Die Hard 2). Considering the fact that Deep Blue Sea may very well be his best movie only goes to show he isn't that accomplished a director. He's all about the action, and there are moments in Deep Blue Sea when it works. L.L. Cool J.'s encounters with the sharks are often tense and surprisingly humorous, and there is a flooding scene with the characters trying to escape the sharks by climbing a ladder that remains a fairly memorable setpiece

However, there are plenty of moments that don't work, either. One of the "main characters" sudden departure feels quite obvious in the middle of his "we will survive if we stay together" speech, and the end result is not only bloody, but also quite cheesy. The over-the-top finale is probably the worst, and the less description about it, the better.

The special effects are sometimes effective, just like the action scenes (as I think of it now, a lot of things are sometimes effective and sometimes not). The animatronic sharks are convincing and realistic, but CGI is far worse-looking than what you may have thought was dated in Jaws. The sets are appropriately well-fashioned, and the constant scenes of flooding do give the film a little added tension.

The performances are also a mixed bag. Samuel L. Jackson as the man funding the whole operation is very good (as always) and it's a pity he isn't in this film more. As I think of it, as soon as his presence is gone, that's when the film's true downslide began. Saffron Burrows is also good as the scientist and heroine of the picture, but a stupid move on the filmmakers' part in the finale ruins any of her development (which isn't a whole lot to begin with, but is significantly more than anyone else). Also decent are Stellen Skarsgard and Jacqueline Mckenzie. LL Cool J is fun to watch when he's making fun of his situation, but is a bit irritating when he's preaching (he plays a religious cook, is this a case of miscasting?).

The two performers that are not so good are Michael Rappaport and Thomas Jane. Rappaport often goes so far over-the-top in his role you have to wonder who he thinks he's chewing the scenery from. Now, as for Thomas Jane as the shark wrangler, did this guy graduate from the school of acting from Christopher Lambert? For that matter, the two of them look so alike I was wondering if they were related. But back to his performance; Jane is so wooden it's almost laughable. There's even a moment when he pops out of the water and starts screaming in such an unconvincing manner, I found myself chuckling. Jane is perhaps the worst thing about this film and he actually gets the second-most amount of screentime!

The script is dumb, no doubt about it, with some cringe-inducing dialogue and laughably bad science. But, to give all involved in the film credit, everybody seems to know that and doesn't take the story too seriously, which is actually a good balance. If it had reached the campy levels of Lake Placid, this would have been a disaster so points must be awarded to the fact that the tone does usually maintain the same, that is until the over-the-top finale.

There are also some other points in the film that hurt it. Trevor Rabin's score is a little overwrought and fails to bring about the needed excitement. There's also a scene that almost plays an ode to Alien, in which Burrows strips down to her underwear to electrocute a shark. Sure, Burrows is a very good-looking woman, but it's a gratuitous moment.

No one ever said Deep Blue Sea had to be masterful, but it's often too goofy, and thus prevents it from being the extremely entertaining action/thriller it could and should have been. What we do get is still quite watchable and does offer some entertainment, but a quick fix isn't satisfying enough.
** 1/2 out of *****

Description of Deep Blue Sea

Model-actress Saffron Burrows plays the researcher; Thomas Jane pulls double-duty as shark expert and action hunk; Samuel L. Jackson's the corporate sponsor who chooses the worst time for an Aquatica tour; and rapper LL Cool J is nicely cast as Aquatica's cook and comic relief. Michael Rapaport, Jacqueline McKenzie, and Stellan Skarsgård round out the cast, most of whom are turned into shark food as the makos turn Aquatica into a floating junkyard. Harlin takes devilish pleasure in providing sudden, unexpected shocks--no small feat in such a derivative thriller--and as a series of action set-pieces, Deep Blue Sea never disappoints. It's inevitable that Burrows should end up in her underwear like Sigourney Weaver in Alien, but even then the movie offers a credible reason for the strip-down; that Deep Blue Sea can be simultaneously ridiculous and sensible is just another one of its shlocky charms. --Jeff Shannon