dir. renee harlin
st. samuel l. jackson, jacqueline mackenzie, ll cool j, saffron burrows

What do you get if you combine one part Jaws, one part Alien, one part Poseidon Adventure, one part proven, action director and a big bucket of cash? The big on action and big on effects Deep Blue Sea.

Why those references? Well how else do you describe a film about sharks attacking people (Jaws), killing them one by one by chasing them around a complex (Alien) while the people are trapped underwater and trying to get to the surface (Poseidon Adventure). Deep Blue Sea has elements of the action, thriller, horror, science fiction and disaster movie genres and is apparently this years big budget blockbuster (or so the publicity machine says).

Deep Blue Sea follows the standard formula for an action/horror film - introductory action/horror scene, establish characters and scenario, main action/horror scenes, climax. It is a consistent, fast paced film, plot holes aside, that doesn't stress your brain, just provides an enjoyable ride, and it plays with the formula just a little, which is always nice to see in Hollywood.

The basic plot - scientists, working in a research complex in the ocean, have enlarged the brains of three sharks (shark brains contain a cure for degenerative brain diseases) and consequently the sharks have become more intelligent, though I am unsure where their knowledge comes from. The sharks eventually decide they have had enough of being trapped in a compound so they go after their human captors, setting up a bloody confrontation between two species of predators.

There are a few aspects of this film that appealed to me. The character development is minimal, not long after all the characters are introduced, the action starts and just keeps going. In these kinds of films, where the characters are terminated one by one, it is fun to play who is going to die next and who will survive. The action and intensity continues until the end. The film doesn't get sidetracked with pointless subplots, and it finishes neatly. It is not a drawn out resolution with a twist ending to make us think that there is a sequel (although there probably will be anyway).

Other good bits - the explosion that damages the research station is impressive, the animatronic sharks look believable (particularly compared to Bruce from Jaws), the shark attacks are graphic and the camera does not pan away from people being torn apart, we see decent stuntwork as people are thrashed around by large amounts of fast moving water, Samuel L Jackson's' motivational speech is surprising, the female characters don't run around screaming hysterically, and there is no love interest or children.

Not so good bits - Renee Harlin's direction is competent but conservative (he has taken no risks in this film), the acting is pedestrian (Samuel L Jackson's just reprises his Sphere role rather than extend himself, LL Cool J's character is thoroughly clichéd, and the Australian Jacqueline Mackenzie has to pretend to be American while Saffron Burrows is allowed to be English), and the computer generated sharks and shark attacks look fake (but at least they are gory).

I always like to include a quote in my reviews, so here is one from when the survivors are searching Chandler's personal room for supplies: "Chandler is an active girl, she must have something in here with batteries in it."

sebastian niemand
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