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DEEP BLUE SEA
Directed by Renny Harlin
Screenplay by Duncan Kennedy and Donna Powers & Wayne Powers
Starring Samuel L. Jackson, Saffron Burrows,
Thomas Jane, Michael Rapaport and LL Cool J
My advice: Sushi minus the rice, but still right for the price
Rating:  out of just for the fun of it!
I loved this movie. I loved it, loved it, loved it! It is all
of the fun things you want from a popcorn thrill-ride and more! Okay, enough unabashed praising. Let's get down
to brass tacks.
In the opening of the movie we are introduced to one of our star devil-creatures as he attempts to make a midnight
snack of two romantic collegiate couples on a sailboat. Reminiscent of Jaws? Could be. That's is until you realize
that this shark is smarter than your average bear.
The shark in question, a mako shark, was bred in captivity to be part of an experiment designed to find a cure
for Alzheimer's. How the shark escaped is never explained, although it is alluded later in the story line that
he perhaps leapt over the eight-foot high guard fence. Instead, what is explained to us is that when news of this
escape hits the streets the foundations prime investor Russell Franklin (Jackson) stands to lose many millions
of dollars. This threat of non-funding leaves Dr. Susan McAlester (Burrows) with only 48 hours to redeem her research
and show results.
If you've seen the trailer and the commercials you already know this shark is something special. DNA enhancements
have made it super fast, highly intelligent and a serious force to be reckoned with. What you may not know is that
through some genetic twists these sharks are now capable of thought and comprehension. They hunt in packs, can
swim in reverse and are planning their attack with the military smarts of a squadron of Green Berets.
What I enjoyed most about this was the casting. Everyone was supremely well-suited to their part. We have former
inmate and shark expert Carter Blake (Jane); the intelligent doctor, Jim Whitlock (Skarsgard); his marine biologist
squeeze Janice Higgins (McKenzie); the ships engineer, Tom Scoggins (Rapaport) and, last but not least, the bottle-hitting
evangelist cook Sherman "The Preacher" Dudley (LL Cool J) and his fine feathered friend. You might think
from the start that you know who will survive. Place your bets wisely. I would have lost a bundle.
It's man versus beast in the most unlikely of settings. This time the sharks have managed to flood the sea-bound
research lab and swim freely through the corridors stalking their prey. And, boy oh boy, can these suckers stalk.
I highly recommend this. I was terrifically surprised by what fun this movie turned out to be. I went into it expecting
a lot of visual thrills with little to back it up but instead I found myself jumping in my seat so often my popcorn
was liberally spread in the row ahead of me.
Go see it. It's just fun, fun, fun.
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