Baron asked me to write a review on a shark movie since he’s having a series of shark themed reviews, so I chose Deep Blue Sea from 1999. I first saw the film in the theater when it was released and then a few times on my TV or Blu-ray. As you may know I write from a family point of view when I can however, I don’t believe it’s for the little ones so my niece and nephew who are teenagers saw it with me this time around. This isn’t a horror movie rather Sci-Fi/Action/Adventure released by Warner Bros. and directed by Renny Harlin.
Shark movies have been popular since Jaws [1975] however since Jaws: The Revenge [1987] they seemed to die off a little bit because of how bad that film was that it killed the franchise however in the 1990s they started to reappear so we’re going to discuss this film which centers on a top secret aquatic research base headed by Dr. McAlester (Saffron Burrows (Perfect Creature [2006])) and Dr. Jim Whitlock (Stellan Skarsgård (Exorcist: The Beginning [2004])) who are using sharks to test for an Alzheimer’s Disease cure. After one of the sharks escapes the financial backer of the project Russell Franklin (Samuel L. Jackson (1408 [2007])) comes to the base to see what’s going on with a lot of questions. He has no idea why the sharks are acting like they are because secretly they are being genetically engineered to produce the results needed in 3 mako sharks. After one of doctors “proves” that the science is working the shark jumps out of the pool and grabs Dr. Whitlock which now starts the main part of the movie. The shark handler, Carter (Thomas Jane (The Mist [2007])), starts telling what these sharks are capable of as the workers are freaking out; while Russell tries to calm everyone down and attempts to have the group start working together and then all of a sudden, he’s the next victim. It appears that the sharks are hunting who’s left to get to the top of the base and by causing flooding and damaging the defenses from with, to escape as they’re not “real” sharks anymore. I’m not going to give away the ending however you could probably soon if you’ve seen
The movie is just your basic shark eating and hunting however it does have comedic times especially from L.L. Cool Jay (Halloween H20 [1998]) and Michael Rapaport. The underlying message testing on animals isn’t a good thing as it can change its chemistry, especially when no guidelines are followed and in this case, it was vicious sharks wanting to feed and escape. Obviously, it’s not horror however Baron said it was ok to review since it’s a shark movie. There are no true jump scares, though there is a fake-out scene, but it’s hard to compare any movie to that iconic Jaws film. This is Rated R so it’s not for the little ones so if you’re in the mood to watch another run of the mill shark movie then give this one a nibble.
TAGLINES:
- Smarter. Faster. Meaner.
- How fast can you swim?
- Welcome to the endangered species list.
- Your worst fear is about to surface
- Beneath the glassy surface, there’s a World of gliding Monsters
- Your worst fear is about to surface.
IMDb Rating: 5.9/10
3C Rating: 5.5/10