Overall Rating
  Awesome: 21.93%
Worth A Look: 35.83%
Average: 17.11%
Pretty Bad: 6.95%
Total Crap: 18.18%
9 reviews, 133 user ratings
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| Deep Blue Sea |
by Scott Weinberg
"Textbook definition of a FUN summer movie (with some balls)"

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Why is it that just because a movie has sharks eating people it HAS to be a rip-off of Jaws? (Is Psycho just like Porky's because they both have great shower scenes?) A movie like Deep Blue Sea seemingly had strikes against it all through its creation, because it has the audacity to feature the same creatures as the Spielberg classic. This movie does not try to be Jaws in any way, and it's an entertaining movie anyway.Its sense of humor, for example, is balanced just right. Most of the gags stem from a release of tension, as opposed to other recent "giant animal" horror movies. The reactions are funny, because they don't feel like "sarcastic movie character banter". Although the characters are barely introduced, you begin to like them a little, which proves that you needn't be television's "writer of the week" (see: David E. Kelley) to create interesting characters in ridiculous situations.
Deep Blue Sea has an attitude, and it's a nasty one. There are a few surprises you'll only see coming if you read reviews from assholes that warn you of the surprises ahead. The plot is of course just a blueprint that allows our heroes to come in contact with these genetically brilliant sharks. One question about these newly-intelligent sharks....Just because they're smart doesn't mean they automatically KNOW WHAT CERTAIN MACHINES DO! I mean, I'M pretty smart, but that doesn't mean I can perform a vasectomy just by watching someone do it.
The main artistic issue here is this: body count. Lake Placid completely wimps out in the carnage department, and The Haunting is the biggest tease of a movie I've ever seen, since almost none of the obnoxious characters get kill in that one. Big-budget "horror" movies seem to want to be as scary and exciting as possible, yet they never have the stones to have some ghost throw a spear through Liam Neeson's chest! Heaven forbid that Oliver Platt miss his next paycheck for Lake Placid 2: Placider!
Of course my indulgent references to other movies does have a point: Deep Blue Sea is a studio action/horror movie that actually delivers the goods. There are quite a few WOW scenes, and some breathtaking action sequences that are not just stale retreads. Yes, this movie does seem to have tons of components from tons of films (and not just Jaws): It's got a little of The Abyss, Jaws 2, Leviathan, Jaws 3, Sphere, Jaws: The Revenge, Alien3, and that James Bond movie where his buddy got gnawed on by a shark and he got real angry. (Bond, that is, not the shark.)
There is a subtlety to some of the creepiness in the script (Skaarsgard's finsh, for example), and I love the disdain the screenwriters seem to have for these characters. Consider a scene in which Sam Jackson's supposedly inspirational speech is abruptly interrupted, or the vicious way in which our final victim of the film is chomped so thoroughly. (And to cast LL Cool J as a CHEF is just a visionary piece of brilliance. To follow in the footsteps of such great cinematic chefs like Steven Seagal as Casey Ryback is truly an honor. Is there an Oscar category for Casting Directors?)
I certainly wouldn't claim that this is a top-ten movie, or groundbreaking in any way (and who cares? It's a movie about GENETICALLY-ALTERED SUPER SMART SHARKS, PEOPLE!), but here's the truth from an angry guy who is TIRED of wimpy, flaccid studio crap: This movie is FUN, and it's got teeth.This fun, exciting chew-'em-up is great, because it doesn't try to bullshit its audience. They know what we want, and they'll gladly give it to us. This one may allow you to trust coming attractions again, for a little while anyway. This one reintroduces actors to their proper place in the movie food chain. Nasty and fun.
link directly to this review at http://www.efilmcritic.com/review.php?movie=737&reviewer=128 originally posted: 07/29/99 14:58:52
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USA 28-Jul-1999 (R)
UK N/A
Australia 27-Sep-1999 (M)
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