Deep Rising

Deep Rising

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• A band of ruthless hijackers seize the most luxurious cruise in the world only to find that all the passengers have mysteriously disappeared, but they are not alone. Something is lurking behind every deck and passageway, snatching the intruders one by one! System Requirements: Starring: Jason Flemying, Anthony Heald, Djimon Hounsou, Famke Janssen, Derrick O Connor, Kevin J. O Connor, Wes Studi

DVD Reviews of Deep Rising

DVD Review: Not a bad flick, certainly not as bad as critics say.
Summary: 3 Stars

The movie opens with two separate stories, one involving a water transport service led by John Finnegan, who is unaware that his passengers are transporting massive firearms to their undisclosed destination. This revelation sparks a takeover of the boat by the gruff passengers, leaving Finnegan and his two crew members, Joey and Leila, at their mercy. As this is happening, the new cruise ship Argonautica is out on its maiden voyage until a mysterious person tampers with the computer mainframe of the vessel and causes the ship to lose any and all control. To complicate matters for the passengers, the ship is brought to a terrifyingly jolting halt, accompanied by spooky noises from outside the ship's hull.

The two stories converge at this point, as Finnegan's vessel arrives at its destination: the disabled cruise ship, at which point everyone but one of the bandits and Leila board the ship. Armed with machine guns and a vast array of weapons, they search the ship from top to bottom, only to discover that the passengers are nowhere in sight, save for the beautiful Trillian St. James, a seductively crafty thief whose attempts to rob the ship take a backseat to staying alive, and the ship's captain, Simon Canton, the pouty whiny jerk of the story.

At this point, things begin to get a little clearer. We learn the secret connection between Canton and the arrival of the gun-laden bandits, while also discovering that the ship has become infested with worm-like creatures with a taste for humans. They don't merely eat humans, but drink them and then rid themselves of the skeletal remain, which will turn more than a few stomachs in the audience. The story segues into a race for survival, as they struggle for a way out of the ship before they are all digested by the creatures.

The story itself is mostly juvenile, and despite its R rating, it is given a pretty basic treatment that most preteens would be able to understand. This is due to its never-ending formulaic plot twists and contrived attention-grabbers that pop up at least once every minute. Scenes which pit the surviving members of the group against the dangerous monsters always leave a way out for them, and it is because of this that we are able to predict so early on who will end up making it off the ship. There seems to be a mantra for the story that if you can't find a way out of a situation, then the most ludicrous scenario you can imagine turns up being the way out. The movie follows this mantra in almost every action sequence, and I found myself heaving an "Oh, please" through a good bit of the film.

Writer/director Stephen Sommers shows no apparent shame in borrowing from almost every disaster movie involving a creature or a ship that we've seen done before. There are elements of "The Poseidon Adventure" present in a scene that requires our heroes to swim through underwater sections of the ship to reach a safety spot. The composition of the creatures comes dangerously close to copying the "Anaconda" craze, and let's not forget to mention how they travel through the ship, which is resonant of "Alien," in which the alien made its way around through air-conditioning vents (here, our creatures use water pipes).

What comes as a surprise to me is the amount of suspense the film totes along with this formula and contrivance. All of those plots twists and attention-grabbers may be old, but they certainly have not lost their touch, and I found myself watching with increased attention and jumping in certain scenes. This movie uses a lot of fast shocks, especially ones accompanied by sudden, shrill chords of music, and these work quite well in delivering shocks and thrills. And those situations where they always find a way out? Well, they may get out, but it's not without the close calls and the heightened rush of adrenaline you get from watching scenes like this. You know they'll make it to safety, but there's always that little area in your mind which questions that fact.

What really makes the movie enjoyable is the way Sommers incorporates humor and witty dialogue into the story to balance out the thrills and shocks. This is becoming increasingly fervent in his films, and was the case with his remake of "The Mummy." In the midst of all the intensity and violence, we are still given a chance to laugh at the characters' remarks, mostly from Trillian and Joey. Trillian is played by Famke Janssen, who has such a knack for turning colorful phrases and making them completely convincing (if you don't believe me, watch 1999's "House on Haunted Hill"). And Kevin J. O'Conner plays Joey, whose subtle timidity and high-pitched voice make him a stand-out for comedy.

Treat Williams plays a good action hero as John Finnegan, and while his character may seem a little too hammy (and maybe a little too insightful as to the connection between the captain and the villians), he plays it well and looks like he's having fun with it. Anthony Heald is our whiny, two-faced antihero as captain Canton, and his segue is well-acted and convincing. The supporting cast also includes Wes Studi, Derrick O'Connor, Jason Flemyng, Cliff Curtis, Clifton Powell, Trevor Goddard, Djimon Hounsou, Una Damon, and Clint Curtis.

Despite its many flaws, "Deep Rising" can be a fun and exciting ride that is not without its suspense factor. It does prove, on a mediocre level, that formula and contrivance can sometimes be fun. Wit and humor abide very nicely within this film, which allows us to laugh while jumping in fright at just the right moments.

Description of Deep Rising