7/29/99
Deep Blue Sea stars Samuel L. Jackson as Russell Franklin, Saffron Burrows as Susan McAlester, Thomas Jane as Carter Blake, Stellan Skarsgård as Dr. Jim Whitlock, LL Cool J as Dudley, Michael Rapaport as Tom Scoggins, Jacqueline McKenzie as Janet Winters, Wayne Knight as Doc, Daniel Rey as Glenn Kuhn, Brent Roam as Dale Heather.
Deep Blue Sea is one of those Confined Space/Horror/Action/Thriller films. (if anyone can come up with a good acronym for this I'd love to here from you.) These stories always leave the victims/heroes locked in with nowhere to go but down another corridor. The film should actually be called the Poseidon Adventure with Sharks!
Ok, So much for the rambling. Here's the story. Scientists working on a cure for Alzheimer's Disease converted an old submarine base into a laboratory, called Aquatica, to enhance the brain growth of sharks. A protein in the brain of sharks is used to stimulate the synapses in human brain tissue. Of course, the sharks, like most intelligent creatures don't like being penned up and stuck with needles. The sharks take advantage of a tropical storm/huricane approaching and the weekend as only a skeleton crew is left behind.
Deep Blue Sea has plenty of intense, very intense and brutal scenes. You never know what is behind the next flooded compartment door. This film is aimed at young audience, the one who sees slasher flix. The clue these days is the sound track and rap stars in the credits. This film differs from most slasher films by making everyone an equal target. There are some religious undertones, beats me why.
Deep Blue Sea has good acting, and actors. LL Cool J plays the cook. He and his parrot are supposed to be the comic relief between gripping scenes in this movie. My audience didn't laugh. There was a timing problem or something.
This film did not give us anything new as far as shark attacks go, in fact they never created the fear that Jaws created. This was a classic Frankenstein plot of attacking your creator not leaving the viewer afraid of the water.
There are plenty of fireballs, and of course the gratuitous, shark attacking a helicopter.
