Directed by: Rennie Harlin
Produced by: Alan Riche, Tony Ludwig, Akiva Goldsman
Written by: Duncan Kennedy and Donna Powers & Wayne Powers
Starring:
Thomas Jane as Cater Blake
Saffron Burrows as Dr. Susan McAlester
Samuel L. Jackson as Russell Franklin
Jacqueline McKenzie as Janice Higgins
LL Cool J as Preacher |
"Deep Blue Sea" is the latest action blockbuster spewed forth by director Renny Harlin and the production team of Alan Riche, Tony Ludwig and Akiva Goldsman. If you enjoyed the schlock and bubble of "Long Kiss Goodnight", then it's possible that this film's for you.
The plot is ridiculous - researchers are aboard a floating laboratory called Aquatica trying to find the cure for degenerative brain disorders like Alzheimer's. To do this, Dr. Susan McAlester, played by Saffron Burrows, has violated ethical codes to genetically re-engineer mako shark DNA. Mako sharks, we come to understand, are the fastest and one of the most deadly sharks in the ocean, and now the Aquatica team have made them smarter and larger than ever.
During a vital test, one of the 3 genetically modified sharks breaks loose in the laboratory, causing major damage that will eventually flood and sink the entire complex.
Enter the characters. The main ensemble cast was intentionally made up of good actors, not stars, but this was not a big winner for them.
Disappointingly, Samuel L. Jackson appears in the film as the financier of Aquatica, who arrives at the complex to see if funding should be continued. Australian Jacqueline McKenzie also appears as marine biologist Janice Higgins. I usually forgive every good Australian actor one big blockbuster American film to try and make it in Hollywood, so Jacqueline has just used up that freebie. Apparently she performed in some good scenes, but they were all edited out of the film.
The conquering hero is very obvious from the start. Carter Blake, played by Thomas Jane is the all-brawn-no-brain shark-catcher, who is bound to save the day. But surprisingly, if it weren't for the performances of Grammy-award winner LL Cool J as the cook, "Preacher", and Michael Rapaport, playing the facility's engineer, I would have been at a loss to say anything good about the film at all.
Scriptwriters, Australian Duncan Kennedy and Donna Powers & Wayne Powers have taken old cliched lines and put them in the water with sharks. Certain events remind me of the "Poseidon Adventure", which incidentally is a much better film. The set, also, is not outstanding.
Renny Harlin, whose work I didn't like in "Long Kiss Goodnight" still manages, as in that film, to get one scene with a wet scantily-clad woman overpowering a monster; and the drama that should be there with a big soundtrack, sharks and $100 million worth of special effects doesn't come near "Jaws".
As I said at the beginning - some liked the stupidity of the unbelievable stunts and storyline of "Long Kiss Goodnight" - so you may also enjoy "Deep Blue Sea". See it at your own peril.
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