Deep Blue Sea

Starring: Thomas Jane, Saffron Burrows, Samuel L. Jackson, Jacqueline McKenzie, Michael Rapaport, Stellan Skarsgard, LL Cool J, Aida Turturro
Directed by: Renny Harlin
Rating: R
Genre: Action, Horror, Science Fiction
1999

Times Seen:
Tim: 3

Summary: A group of scientists searching for a cure for Alzheimer's injects sharks with a compound to increase their brain size. However, this also makes the sharks more intelligent- which creates havoc when they escape and start hunting.

Review:

Tim: I'm not afraid to admit that I love Deep Blue Sea. I'm not suggesting it is a great movie, but I don't care. It is thoroughly enjoyable, fun, exciting, scary, and entertaining. It's the type of movie I love watching. It is far more intelligent than the average creature feature (admittedly, not a supremely high bar) and throws a few curveballs the audience's way. It is an unexpected, very good movie.

The cast is pretty superb for a film like this. Thomas Jane is very good as a shark rangler with a spotty past. I enjoyed him in the role and I believed him in the part. Saffron Barrows was one of the weaker links of the film, but she still gives a worthwhile performance. I loved LL Cool J in the movie. His character was hilarious, memorable, and fun. He was instantly relatable, and someone we root for to stay alive. That doesn't always happen in movies like this, so that is an achievement. I loved Samuel L. Jackson's presence in the film, especially his speech scene. However, Jackson gives one of the worst performances I've ever seen him give. He delivers several of the lines in such a clumsy, wooden manner that I almost laugh out loud every time. I don't get what he was doing, because he's more talented than that. As if this wasn't a strong enough cast, we also have the excellent Stellan Skarsgard in a small role. The cast is pretty strong.

It might seem like a completely ridiculous premise to have ultra intelligent sharks stalking their prey, but I thought the movie worked hard to make this believable. We have the story about trying to find a cure for Alzheimer's. While a bit silly, I appreciated that the story tried to ground the events in some scientific fact. It was convincing enough for me to go along with it. Plus, it allows us to watch super smart sharks stalk their prey. That's always good entertainment, right there.

I liked the different characters that were depicted here. We have a very cool, mysterious shark rangler. We have a stop-at-nothing hardnosed scientist. We have the comic relief religious cook, the seen-it-all-and-survived corporate leader, and an odd assortment of other scientists. It makes for a very good group of people. I love that the movie defied genre standards a bit- anyone can die in this film, and it really keeps you guessing about who will live and who will die. I love that the survivors weren't immediately apparent after the first five minutes (which is too often the case). That's one of the strongest aspects of Deep Blue Sea. Speaking of that cool title, I also loved how the title was explained in the film. I got a bit of a chill when I realized what it meant.

This film was entertaining, funny, nerveracking, surprisingly, and fun. I admit that it's flawed- too much bad acting, weak moments in the script, far-fetched events we're expected to believe, etc. However, the strong aspects of the film far outweigh the flaws. I love this movie, even though I have to admit it isn't a great film. Still, it is very, very good, and that is surprising in this subgenre. I recommend this film highly.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Anaconda, Alien, Poseidon, Deep Rising, Jaws