Chum
Deep Blue Sea (1999): 9 out of 10: is a science fiction thriller film released in 1999.
At an isolated research facility built inside an old submarine base, Dr. Susan McAlester (Saffron Burrows) is genetically modifying sharks to find a cure for Alzheimer’s disease. A noble goal, certainly, though making sharks smarter seems like the sort of intermediate step someone should have questioned at a staff meeting.
When financier Russell Franklin (Samuel L. Jackson) arrives to check on his investment, a disastrous accident turns the facility into a rapidly flooding buffet. With a storm overhead and unusually resourceful sharks downstairs, McAlester, shark wrangler Carter Blake (Thomas Jane), cook Preacher (LL Cool J), and the remaining crew must find a way out before their research develops a taste for another department. It is an underwater disaster movie with teeth, where being the smartest person in the room becomes considerably less reassuring once the room fills with water.
The Good
The Good: Sometimes one scene really makes a film. If you have seen the film, you know I am talking about Samuel L. Jackson’s rousing avalanche speech. If you have not, I will spoil no more.
Leaving aside that one scene, this is a solid entry in the B movies with A budgets and casts genre. Besides Samuel L. Jackson, we have Michael Rapaport (Before he got too weird), Stellan Skarsgård (Before he got old), LL Cool J (Who is very good), and Janice from the Sopranos. Also, I would be remiss, not to mention Jacqueline McKenzie as the blonde cutie.
The effects hold up well today, particularly the practical effects on the sharks. The idea of doing medical research on sharks at an old abandoned sub base in the middle of the ocean is screenwriting genius. Allowing a reason for people not to be able to escape and a reason for both the people and sharks to be where they are.
The Bad
The Bad: The last ten minutes of Deep Blue Sea kind of drag a bit. What should be a climax of the film seems somewhat indeterminable.
The idea that a foreign national air ambulance would show up minutes after an injury in the middle of what looks like a tropical storm probably stretches incredulity more than anything else in the film.
From a storytelling point of view understand the characters explaining everything to financier Samuel L. Jackson is a way for the screenplay to explain everything to the audience. But Samuel seems a little too tuned in not to have known all this already. (And the script points this out when he knows the arrest history and current legal status of the diver.) In addition, the hostility of some crewmembers to the guy who holds their purse strings and future in his hands seems more screenwriters fantasy than anything grounded. (At least to his face).
The Ugly
The Ugly: There are two sequels to Deep Blue Sea. I do not know how good they are. They appear to be direct to video movies using the name. The reason I do not know how good they are is that I have never seen them on any streaming service. C’mon guys, I need more shark attack movies with Casper Van Dien to make fun of. Actually strike that last thought. Looking over the IMDb pages for Deep Blue Sea 2 and Deep Blue Sea 3 I do not know who any of these people are. Nice posters though I have been fooled before.
In Conclusion
In Conclusion: Deep Blue Sea is a favorite of mine. There is something comforting about the movie. It is an excellent setup for a monster movie (Again kudos to screenwriters Duncan Kennedy, Donna Powers, and Wayne Powers). The movie has enough of a budget to do justice to the script and a topnotch cast. It is also funny in many places, scary and legitimately entertaining. Like I said, a really fun time at the movies.
good!!!