Well hi folks!! The movie fanatic is back with a review of Deep Blue Sea.
Well I suppose it was inevitable doing a review on a film that has sharks in it. Although I have to say that this isn't your average.....
"Oh look there's a shark.....it's gonna eat me!!!!!!"
....sort of movie!! ... Read review
Renny Harlin's first feature sinceThe Long Kiss Goodnightreinvents the rampaging shark ... more
movie for the digital age. EchoingAlienandDeep Rising, a typically motley crew is trapped and terrorised in a remote ocean research station incapacitated by storms. ...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Renny Harlin's first feature sinceThe Long Kiss Goodnightreinvents the rampaging shark ... more
movie for the digital age. EchoingAlienandDeep Rising, a typically motley crew is trapped and terrorised in a remote ocean research station incapacitated by storms. ...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 1 to 2 weeks...
Bigger. Smarter. Faster. Meaner. How fast can you swim? While seeking a cure for ... more
Alzheimer's disease a group of scientists in a state-of-the-art ocean facility in Baja Mexico are experimenting with sharks enlarging the brains of nature's most dange...
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: 3-5 working days
Researchers in the undersea laboratory Aquatica have genetically altered the brains of ... more
captive sharks to develop a potential cure for Alzheimer's disease. There is one unexpected side effect: the sharks are getting smarter. Which could mean trouble for...
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traditional notions of personal leadership, relational leadership looks at leadership not as the possession of an individual leader, but as an aspect of the community.
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Well hi folks!! The movie fanatic is back with a review of Deep Blue Sea.
Well I suppose it was inevitable doing a review on a film that has sharks in it. Although I have to say that this isn't your average.....
"Oh look there's a shark.....it's gonna eat me!!!!!!"
....sort of movie!! Deep Blue Sea does actually have a story behind it although it could have been improved upon!
Quotes, quotes, quotes, that's my style and I wouldn't want to disappoint anyone so here's a comment or two from the critics!!
"Jaws with attitude." THE MIRROR
"Perfect heart-pumping, palm sweating, Saturday night cinema" THE SUN
Well lets see....I'd agree with the first comment just not the second one!
For this film, I am going to talk about the VHS version and not the DVD....slightly unusual but not all my films are on DVD!!
There is still techie stuff to be told so here I go!
***TECHIE STUFF***
This film has a 15 certificate. This would probably be have something do with the fact that there are some gory scenes with sharks.
I bought my VHS version from amazon.co.uk for £14.07. Amazon have 12% off the rrp.
This film has a running time of 1 hour and 58 minutes. I wonder how many people can get eaten in that time?
Produced by Village Roadshow and Warner Brothers.
Director: RENNY HARLIN
***ACTORS AND ACTRESSES***
I didn't recognise most of the actors or actresses but I'll include a couple of films they've been in for your reference!
SAFFRON BURROWS - The Matchmaker, Circle of Friends
THOMAS JANE - The Sweetest Thing, Boogie Nights
LL COOL J / JAMES TODD SMITH - Halloween H20, Toys
JACQUELINE McKENZIE - Angel Baby, Saint Joan
MICHAEL RAPAPORT - Zebrahead, Beautiful Girls
STELLAN SKARSGÅRD - Ronin, Passion of Mind
SAMUEL L. JACKSON - Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace, Sphere
***CHARACTERS***
Dr. Susan McAlester Played by actress Saffron Burrows. Susan is the leader of the project. After close members of her family died of Alzheimers diesase she has been dedicated at finding a cure and will do anything to get it. A secret or two accompanies this character and she doesn't let her guard down very often.
Carter Blake Played by actor Thomas Jane. A shark wrangler. Carter takes care of the sharks and is responsible for making sure that they don't get out. Braver than most, Carter will actually get in the water with the sharks!! Probably the best looking, Carter did time in jail, and on Aquatica is meeting the terms of his parole. Although Carter is not fully aware of the research going on in Aquatica, he isn't stupid when things go wrong.
Sherman "Preacher" Dudley Played by actor LL Cool J. The cook. Preacher has a parrot which he likes to call Bird, and is a funny character. Definintely a man of God, he always likes to chat to him. Chef on Aquatica, Preacher likes to look at womens magazines and used to have a drinking problem!
Janice Higgins Played by actress Jacqueline McKenzie. Janice has a romantic attachment to Jim Whitlock and doesn't hide it. An intelligent scientist, Janice is probably the most sensitive member of the group and probably the most likeable, due to the fact that she has a sense of humour.
Tom Scoggins Played by actor Michael Rapaport. Tom is the techno whizz in the group. This guy has an attitude on him but he knows what he is talking about!! Can be a bit panicky at times but otherwise an nice guy.
Jim Whitlock Played by actor Stellan Skarsgard. Jim has a secret up his sleeve about the project. A little out of it at times, he wants to find a cure for Alzheimers disease but at what cost? He has a romantic attachment to Janice and has been labelled the most brilliant man ever.
Russell Franklin Played by actor Samuel Jackson. Franklin is the rich suit. Funding the project that McAlester is researching, he was involved in an avalanche whilst on a holiday with friends and made out whilst others didn't. He's not stupid and seems to be a natural leader of the group.
***PLOT***
The film begins with some guys and girls hanging out on a boat in what looks like the middle of nowhere.....like so many people do that right? Things are going great when they are suddenly attacked by a shark and nearly eaten. Before that can happen though the shark is caught by our favourite shark wrangler Carter.
Meanwhile, Dr Susan McAlester, the head of the Alzheimer's project at the research station Aquatica is given an ultimatum by the financier on whether or not to keep the project running. Russel Franklin states that unless results are seen from this project, it will be shut down in 48 hours.
But what is the project? To find a cure for Alzheimers disease by testing it on brain tissue from sharks.
Susan brings Franklin to Aquatica to see if results can be produced.
So on the day of the test Carter goes outside to fetch in a shark for the test. After giving the shark a tranquiliser, the team begin their test by extracting brain tissue from the shark whilst it is asleep.
The test is successful and everyone is rejoicing...that is until the shark wakes up and chews off Jim Whitlocks arm. After sending out a distress signal to a nearby chopper to get Jim out of there, things go downhill from there. The chopper drops Jim who is on a stretcher into the tank full of sharks. As a result, the chopper crashes right into the facility.
After Jim dies, the team and Franklin notice that the sharks have been behaving strangely, swimming backwards, which is impossible or at least that's what they thought!
WARNING: SEVER PLOT SPOLIER AHEAD. DO NOT READ IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO KNOW.
It turns out that the reason that the sharks have been behaving so strangely is that Jim and Susan violated the Harvard Genetics Pact which states that you can't use gene therapy to increase brain mass. Unfortunately that's what Jim and Susan did. The sharks brain was not big enough to do the test, so basically they enlarged it. Only one teeny tiny little problem with that. As a side effect, the sharks got a lot smarter and are now after them. No one else but Jim and Susan knew about the side effect and now they all must suffer for it.
I won't reveal anymore about the plot because you'll just have to watch it for yourself!!
***QUOTES***
Just to give you an idea of how bad the situation is with the sharks...I've included a couple of quotes to get the ball rolling and a few humourous ones.
FRANKLIN: "Tell me I didn't see that.....they recognised that gun." JANICE: "That's impossible.....sharks do not swim backwards, they can't."
CARTER: "No...what you've done is taken God's oldest killing machine, and given it will and desire...what you've done...is knocked us all the way to the bottom of the god damned food chain."
FRANKLIN: "It can do that!? Bust through a steel door?" CARTER: " I ain't the expert....but given some gen-two size and some room to move, she could put a couple tons, maybe more into a hit, so yeah in my opinion....she wants through...she's coming."
BIRD: "Fat butt.....you gotta big fat butt!" PREACHER: "Any of your nonsense and we're gonna have tiny little drumsticks on the menu tonight!"
***MY PERSONAL OPINION***
Potentially the story was appealing....a shark with a brain! Aside from Samuel Jackson and LL Cool J, I didn't recognise most of the actors or actresses and to be honest I wan't really impressed with the acting. May have had something to do with the fact that the lot of them were either getting eaten or were running away from a shark!! Probably my first shark film that I sat through without falling asleep, the fact that these sharks were smarter as a result of genetic tampering, made the story a bit more bearable. The soundtrack was ok but two of the songs were sung by LL Cool J and I've never really been a fan of his stuff. However much of the comedy comes from LL Cool J and his relationship with his parrot Bird! The characters themselves all have their own secrets and passions which was interesting....Franklin with the avalanche, which made him famous and known.....Susan, who had suffered loses to Alzheimers herself and Carter who served time in jail but is just trying to make his way in the world.
Overall I would watch this film again and I would recommend it, but it's not one of my favourites. Maybe it's one of yours!
Advantages: Good twists in the story, A few comedy moments Disadvantages: Under Use of SLJ
...be a decent film. Well Deep Blue Sea is one of those films. Probably part of the reason I ended up watching it was the fact Samuel L Jackson takes a staring role, and being a fan of most of his films, cause he has done some that are awful, I sat down to watch this.
So what’s it all about, well a team of scientists lead by Dr. Susan McCallister (Saffron Burrows) are conduction studies on Sharks on an observation platform in the middle of the ... ...mix as well. Overall it’s a good film and one I did actually end up buying on DVD. If you want a good film to switch the brain off and watch this is for you, if you want something deep and meaningful give it a miss.
Cheers Andy ...
Andy.mack 05.09.2003
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Deep Blue Sea (DVD)
Advantages: Great cast, lots of action, very realistic (blood, sharks, death, etc) Disadvantages: Weak story, not too many features
...back in the water…….
Deep Blue Sea comes back and hits you with another shark story. This time the sharks are getting smarter, and with no natural predators they are doing pretty well.
In a search to cure the disease of Alzheimer’s scientist have discovered a way to alter sharks brains, so they produce a protein that encourages brain neurons in humans to being functioning again. Unfortunate to make enough protein for humans, the ... ...the sharks. Deep Blue Sea is directed by Renny Harlin, he does a great job. It is all revealed in the extras, he was very hands on, gives a good run through of all the scenes and works well with the cast. It is rated a 15, there is a little bad language, but not much, most of the rating is due to the blood and gore. Watch out there is a lot of this, people do die (a few unpredictably!) and there is lots of blood, so not for the faint hearted. It ...
Chris_Padden 29.10.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Deep Blue Sea (DVD)
Advantages: Great effect, fun film Disadvantages: None too many
...is the evoking feeling that Deep Blue Sea presents you with. I am older and wiser now, and I can laugh at the scenes of razor sharp teeth biting into flesh. But that feeling, that horrific feeling of being hunted, for food, by really big creatures – now, that is there. Memories are stirred… and for the fact it made me just a little bit scared and uneasy Deep Blue Sea is damn good.
So to the plot…
Made in 1999 and directed by Renny ... ...of scientists working in the middle of the ocean, researching into finding a cure for Alzheimer’s Disease. This research involves enhancing sharks brains. But the sharks (with their new enhanced brains and super intelligence) decide they don’t like being cooped up like this and being experimented on and try to get out.
By breaking into the research facility (I won’t describe the inventive way this happens, you have got to see it ...
Borg 10.09.2002
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Deep Blue Sea (DVD)
Advantages: Enjoyable nonsense, ably constructed and pretty effective at times Disadvantages: Gaping plot holes, "only-in-the-movies" stupidity from the stereotypical characters, some poor continuity with the sharks' size, not exactly logical
...terms. So to Deep Blue Sea, another - altogether different - aquatic adventure. Structurally, it's similar to the Alien template - while the story is a novel take on the usual "man-messes-with-nature-and-it-all-goes-wrong" concept. Deep Blue Sea is not Jaws, despite the opening scene. Subsequent exposition reveals a plot which, bizarre though it surely is, at least adds an extra layer to the standard "killer sharks after human dinner" fare. You see, ... ...of captive sharks (ewww), all in the name of medical progress - a cure for Alzheimers and other degenerative brain diseases. The unfortunate side-effect of her cerebral experiments is that in order for her studies to be possible, the shark's grey matter had to be enlarged. More brain power, in other words. It's a ludicrously dumb project for someone supposedly as intelligent as a neuro-surgeon to knowingly undertake, and the pitfalls are even obvious ...
EnglishPatient 03.03.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Deep Blue Sea (DVD)
Advantages: Some great special effects, good acting, not too similar to Jaws Disadvantages: Not quite as scary as Jaws
...you think about (apart from deep blue sea by the way…) I bet some form of creature popped up in your thoughts didn’t it? And I bet it had teeth didn’t it? Well, if you were one of the many who thought up creatures with teeth you’re already much the way to knowing the general gist of this movie. If I mentioned Sharks I’m sure you’d all say “so its like Jaws then?” wouldn’t you? It’s a natural ... ...major difference between Jaws and Deep Blue Sea (which will now be referred to as DBS from now on to avoid RSI!). You see DBS doesn’t just rely on mere Great White’s to provide the scares. Oh no, it goes one better (or worse, depending on whether you’re watching the film or whether you’re actually in the water with one). You see DBS involves a group of scientists working on an underwater marine research facility, they have ...
Sarah_Louise 19.02.2003
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Deep Blue Sea (DVD)
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Advantages: Great action, spectacular special effects Disadvantages: A bit predictable
;►► DVD - Bonus Features & Quality
► Bonus Features
Audio Commentary - This is provided by Renny Harlin/ Samuel L. Jackson and although starts out with the motivation behind the movie, it soon goes into scene specifics with Harlin providing the majority of the input. This is actually really good as it explains every aspect of how the film was made.
When Sharks Attack - This is a very much glitzy making of feature which although is obviously made as a promotional piece, is reasonably interesting as we see how certain scenes were created and why the stars were chosen. With a combination of behind the scenes footage, interviews and clips from the actual movie it is just the right length and is a decent mix of entertainment and fact.
The Sharks of the DeepBlueSea - Again, this has a slightly promotional feel about it as it ...
christianfilmcritic 23.11.2006 (03.06.2007)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Deep Blue Sea (DVD)
Advantages: it has sharks, Disadvantages: some dodgey cgi moments
Opening with a familiar feeling attack sequence DeepBlueSea seems to be another in a line of films following in the footsteps of the Jaws franchise. But unlike most shark as the bad guy films this is a little different. The sharks in question are gentically modified as a part of an experiement to see if a cure for Alzheimers disease can be cured - so are the sharks themselves the bad guys or the scientists responsible? But this film doesnt explore this theme in any depth instead concentrating on the action/horror theme.
The Aquatica facility at a weekend is a quiet place most of the staff will leave and a skeleton crew remains, only this weekend the man who funds the research is visiting - a consequence of the attack he is considering withdrawing the funding. But he is unaware of the genetic tampering.
This weekend a storm is ...
Advantages: Great Story, Great Movie, Great Action Disadvantages: N/A
I have never watched such a movie about sharks. I watched Jaws collection, Octopus, Deep Rising, Relic, and many adventure movies, but I can't get rid of DeepBlueSea. That's a great story. It's very enjoyable, great sound and video effects. "Jaws" is nothing compared to DeepBlueSea. They have design it that could run in to your heart. First I watched it in 1999 at cinema. Now I got its original copy and I have watched it more than 20 times. It's very joyful. Its impulse me! But I feel sad about what happens to girl at the last moment. LL Cool J is Ok. Any way I recommend this. If you want to watch a real game, this is it! I love it so much. I wonder why producers still waiting to make DeepBlueSea II. ...
bWithThushara 04.02.2008 (05.02.2008)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: somewhat helpful Review of Deep Blue Sea (DVD)
In search of a cure for Alzheimer's Disease, a team of scientists experiment with the brains of sharks, making them smarter and faster. When a corporate executive (Jackson) comes to tour the facility the sharks start an uprising that threatens not only the project but the lives of the team. Familiar yet entertaining work by director Harlin. The special edition release contains a bonus behind-the-scenes documentary When Sharks Attack!
Release details
DVD Region
DVD
Studio(s)
WARNER HOME VIDEO; CINRAM LOGISTICS
Release date
05/06/2000
No of Discs
1
Catalogue No
D 017242
Barcode
7321900172424
Languages
Main Language
English
Subtitle Language
Arabic, Bulgarian, English, Romanian
Hearing Impaired Language
English
Technical information
Special Features
Star And Director Commentaries, When Sharks Attack Documentary, Sharks Of The Deep Blue Sea, 5 Deleted Scenes, Original Theatrical Trailer, Stills Gallery
"...[The] underwater photography is luminous..." (Sight and Sound, p.41-2, 01/11/1999)
"...Powered by exceptional displays of physical filmmaking..." (Variety, p.33, 01/08/1999)
DVD Description
In search of a cure for Alzheimer's Disease, a team of scientists experiment with the brains of sharks, making them smarter and faster. When a corporate executive (Jackson) comes to tour the facility the sharks start an uprising that threatens not only the project but the lives of the team. Familiar yet entertaining work by director Harlin. The special edition release contains a bonus behind-the-scenes documentary When Sharks Attack!
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