Cover Art

Credits

Director: Renny Harlin Starring:Saffron Burrows, Thomas Jane, LL Cool J, Jacqueline McKenzie, Michael Rapaport, Stellan Skarsgard and Samuel L Jackson Screenplay: Duncan Kennedy, Donna Powers, Wayne Powers Country: USA

Deep Blue Sea centres on a group of scientists who are trying to find a cure for Alzheimer's disease by testing on genetically altered mako sharks in an isolated floating research lab in the middle of the sea. The sharks are now bigger, smarter and faster. Naturally, a severe storm and the sharks manage to destroy parts of the floating lab, causing it to slowly sink, with the sharks escaping their pens. Now the survivors must try to escape the sinking lab, without getting eaten by the sharks that seem to be hunting them one by one.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again; I loved this movie. The premise, which was completely bastardised by Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid, (altered animals and scientists on a mission for good) was something new and very story driven. These sharks weren't just mindless and evil; they were genetically altered to be bigger and better. The scientists, although breaking every known ethical code, had a moral obligation to Alzheimer's sufferers, which made the story more sympathetic. Deep Blue Sea was story motivated as well as action packed.

Renny Harlin early on in his career made movies like Nightmare on Elm Street 4 and moved on to direct some major box office action flicks like Die Hard 2 and Cliffhanger (as the cover of the DVD will surely tell you). Harlin has always chosen the films he likes, which is good because then you know you're getting a well thought out and loved movie. Deep Blue Sea is one of these movies. Harlin obviously wanted to make this a great thrill ride for the audience, and set out to secure the right actors and technology to make this film work. Harlin's mistake in Deep Blue Sea however, was the inclusion of really bad CGI effects. The animatronic sharks were brilliant, worked well, and looked realistic (except that tiger shark, I don't know what they were thinking with that). When those sharks couldn't perform, the CGI composites did. Some of these effects were just plain horrible. They were too unrealistic, and ruined the otherwise high quality production value. (Harlin fell into this same trap with his recent Exorcist: The Beginning) Certain death scenes weren't nearly as effective because they looked unbelievably bad. Of course, some of the other scenes where the animatronic sharks are used are effective and look great.

The characters in the film are surprisingly enjoyable and didn't become tiresome. I'm sure there are those who hated LL Cool J, but I found his presence to be a well-needed comic relief. For a movie that relied on scaring the audience, he maintained the lighter aspects of the movie, making it that little bit more enjoyable. Samuel L Jackson pretty much reigns supremely over anything he does, and I've always been a fan of Michael Rapaport, but maybe it's the way he speaks. The rest of the cast, including Australian Jacqueline McKenzie all put on a performance to help enhance the movie.