The Charge

Bigger. Smarter. Faster. Meaner.

Opening Statement

Deep Blue Sea has giant man-eating sharks, big explosions, and a group of people fighting for their lives…what could be better?

The Evidence

Renny Harlin is good example of a director who knows what he does well, and sticks to it. He has directed great action movies such as Cliffhanger, The Long Kiss Goodnight, and Die Hard 2. Great *films* these are not, but they are great action movies. I hold action movies to a different standard than other movies. Though plot and characterization are still important, they take a back seat to visceral thrills, exciting stunts, and special effects that lead to suspension of disbelief. Deep Blue Sea provides all of them in spades.

Deep Blue Sea begins by showing a group of drunken twentysomethings partying on a catamaran in the middle of the ocean. In a homage to Steven Spielberg's Jaws, a giant shark attacks the boat. They are saved in the nick of time by Carter Blake (Thomas Jane, Face/Off, Boogie Nights, The Thin Red Line). Blake works at Aquatica, a former submarine refueling station that has been converted into a research facility in the middle of the ocean. The staff at Aquatica is conducting studies to produce a protein in the sharks' brains that could cure Alzheimer's disease. Of course, regular sharks wouldn't do the trick…the sharks had to be genetically altered to make their brains bigger. As a result, they've become smarter.

After the test shark escaped and attacked the boat, the leader of the facility, Dr. Susan McAlester (Saffron Burrows, Circle of Friends, The Loss of Sexual Innocence, Wing Commander) meets with the billionaire who has bankrolled the research facility, Russell Franklin (Samuel L. Jackson, Pulp Fiction, The Negotiator, the upcoming Shaft Returns). Franklin is afraid that the media coverage of the shark attack is going to drive down the price of his stock, so he wants to shut down Aquatica. McAlester convinces him to allow them to complete one last trial, and the two return to the facility. It is a weekend, so only a skeleton crew remains at the station. Soon we are introduced to other key staff members. Dr. Jim Whitlock (Stellan Skarsgård, Good Will Hunting, Ronin) is McAlester's research partner. Tom Scoggins (Michael Rapaport, Mighty Aphrodite, True Romance)…well, I never really figured out what his official position was. He seems to be the handyman jack-of-all-trades. Preacher (LL Cool J, Any Given Sunday, Halloween H2O) is the facility's cook. And lastly, Janice Higgins (Jacqueline McKenzie, Romper Stomper) is a research assistant.

After a good night's rest, the researchers bring the largest shark into the wet lab to extract some of the protein from its brain. The procedure is a success, but suddenly the shark wakes up from its sedation to attack one of the crewmembers. This is the point in the movie where everything starts to go wrong. The injured crew member is brought topside to be retrieved by a helicopter crew, but the chopper's winch fails and the stretcher falls into the shark pen. Though the scene has been shown in commercials, I am reluctant to reveal it here because it is truly creative and shocking. After this scene, the sharks begin a systematic attack on the crew and gradually flood the underwater station. People die in original and unexpected ways, and the two smaller test sharks are killed. At last, the survivors make it to the surface, where they must prevent the largest shark from escaping into the wild.

There are several things that separate Deep Blue Sea from its obvious inspiration, Jaws. First, we get to see much, much more of the sharks. Jaws was filmed twenty-five years ago, and special effects technology has made extreme advances in that time. The sharks depicted on-screen in Deep Blue Sea are a combination of real sharks, animatronic models, and CG renderings. You cannot tell the difference between the model sharks and the real ones, but the CG sharks are quite obviously CG. That's a shame, but quite a bit of other digital work was done, and it all looks seamless. Check out the shot of the helicopter flying between the waves at 35:04…according to Harlin's commentary, it's completely CG. Second, the public is much more desensitized to film gore since the days of Jaws. That allows Deep Blue Sea to be much more graphic in its depictions of shark attacks. Third, and perhaps the culmination of the previous points, quite a bit of the suspense of Jaws is lost because the film can depict things much more realistically. Jaws relied on placing the viewer in the shark's point of view. That, coupled with John Williams' haunting score, was enough to terrify. The subtlety of Jaws has been replaced with brute force terror.

Warner Brothers has produced another top-notch DVD presentation. Quality-wise, I would rank Deep Blue Sea a very close second to The Matrix. Though other DVD review sites have had some quibbles with the video quality, I saw absolutely no problems. The movie is presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic, and looks just as good as it did when I saw it theatrically. I saw the movie at a Cinemark theatre, so even on my Poor Man's System, the audio sounded better than it did in the theatre.

The extra content does not quite measure up to that of The Matrix, but it is ample. A commentary track was recorded by Samuel L. Jackson and Renny Harlin. The curious thing about the track is that their comments were recorded separately and then edited together. It can seem a bit odd at times, and Harlin's thick Finnish accent can be distracting, but on the whole their comments are informative and interesting. There are two behind-the-scenes documentaries. One, entitled "When Sharks Attack!," runs 15 minutes and is your typical making-of piece used to promote the film. It is notable for its footage of the actors (primarily Thomas Jane) diving with real sharks off the coast of Mexico. The other documentary, "The Sharks of Deep Blue Sea," runs 8 minutes and focuses on the special effects used to bring the fake sharks to life. I warn the viewer: do NOT watch these documentaries if you have not yet seen the movie. They both give away major plot points. Five deleted scenes are included that can be viewed with or without commentary by Harlin. The scenes look like poor-quality 256-color digitized versions, but they do give some important character details that were cut due to pacing concerns. The theatrical trailer is provided in 2.35:1 anamorphic. It's an awesome, exciting trailer. Lastly, thirty-two stills are provided. They are mostly promotional photos rather than the behind-the-scenes sort.

The Rebuttal Witnesses

I honestly cannot find anything negative to say about the movie or the DVD. I saw Deep Blue Sea during the summer of 1999, then promptly dragged my wife to see it the next day because I loved it so much. Honestly, I probably love it too much. It's not a deep movie. The dialogue is inane. Samuel L. Jackson really looks like he's struggling with the lack of material to work with. But it's a fun movie, and I enjoy every minute of it.

Closing Statement

It's a no-brainer: if you like action or horror flicks, rent or buy Deep Blue Sea. It may not tax your gray matter, but you'll sure enjoy it.

The Verdict

Disc and movie acquitted on all charges. Court is adjourned.

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