Giving opinions for several years and showing like a fine vintage
Giving opinions for several years and showing like a fine vintage
Member since:11.07.2000
Reviews:624
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It is mid-morning in Los Angeles, the coffee has just been brewed and the bagels and muffins are still warm. One movie exec doesn't touch them because he's on a no-food diet. The other loads up on caffeine in an attempt to wake himself up after a night of snorting cocaine off a stripper's body.
"Listen we've got nothing to follow the summer period and we need something for the kids, plus I've got my eye on a new condo in the hills"
"Well I had an idea last night and it was hot"
"Great! Let's hear it!"
" We'll get some hot young actors and actresses, throw them in the Bahamas and have them walk around in nothing but shorts and bikinis."
"I like it, what about the story?"
"Who cares, we'll chuck them on the poster with next to nothing on"
"Brilliant! Let's do a deal over lunch!"
Into The Blue is one of those movies that exist purely on a concept that sex will sell to the teen crowd. Guys will see Jessica Alba in the trailer wearing a bikini and want to buy a ticket. Girls will see Paul Walker
a bit buff and flashing his pearly whites and slap down their money on the counter. It doesn't matter if the movie has a good story, by the time you're in the theatre; the job of the studio is done.
Jared (Paul Walker) is a dreamer in the Bahamas who goes it alone looking for treasure in the clear blue waters. He hasn't got the money to get a real operation going but he has got a hot girlfriend Sam (Jessica Alba). One hot day, Jared's friend Bryce (Scott Caan) rolls into town with a new gal in tow. Amanda (Ashley Scott) is also hot but a little bit off the rails. The lot of them go diving and discover some treasure potentially worth millions of dollars. But they also find a plane with a huge stash of cocaine in the hull. The movie spends a lot of time swimming beneath the water before the drug dealers turn up and want to know where their plane and stash is. Cue much dumbness, skimpy swimwear and death by frikkin sharks…. although sadly with no laser beams attached to their heads.
Let me just say that Into The Blue does have a few things going for it but sadly none of them have anything to do with the actual plot of the film. The underwater cinematography is extremely lush and paints a stunning picture of serenity where you could lose yourself for hours on end. After a couple of hours I hope that one-day I can take the trip to the Bahamas and do some diving. But then I'd probably get the same experience from watching something on National Geographic.
Getting back to the movie, it's sadly a complete snooze. It is obvious that the sight of seeing good-looking guys and gals in swimwear is all this has going for it. One thing sure to ruin your film is casting Paul Walker in a lead role. The guy may have some nice all-american looks but as an actor he is a vacuum that sucks the life out of the screen. His line delivery is monotone and although he doesn't mumble, at times it's pretty hard to understand what he's saying. As a leading man he has no real charm or charisma. I was hoping that a shark might mistake him for a seal at some point.
The same can be said for Jessica Alba. Yes she's extremely attractive but as an actress she's not great. To be honest she doesn't have a great deal to do in the movie aside from swim and see how far she can get her bikini up the crack of her ass before getting an adult rating. Ashley Scott is another actress who looks good but isn't given a great deal to do. It's as if the writers weren't really sure how to write her character. The only cast member I found tolerable was Scott Caan who seems to be acting in a better movie than this. He at least has some charisma and wit about him.
The plot of the movie has been done countless times before. The moral is always the same, never get involved in drug deals or try and double cross dealers as it will usually end in trouble. The same applies here but the movie takes about an hour to get to this point. For the majority of the running time we just get diving and a few treasure hunts, none of which are incredibly interesting. I just got the feeling that this was a movie that wasn't entirely sure what it wanted to be. On one hand it appears to be a fun action movie set somewhere tropical. On the other hand it tries to be a bit more adult in it's material. But it just falls short of the mark on both counts. For example one moment sees the death of a character but at no point did I find myself giving a shit as it was skirted over like it was a non-event.
Director John Stockwell certainly likes his films with H20. As I've said the movie looks nice but there's nothing special whatsoever. I get the feeling he's just done the best he could with the material. However one of the extras on the dvd features him declaring the film a moral drama. Sorry John, it's a diving movie with a high quota of T&A and nothing more.
Into The Blue is a predictable piece of fluff that I found dull, lacking in direction and made just to see Jessica Alba's ass in a bikini on the big screen….I thought that would make it the greatest movie of all time but alas it wasn't to be.
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![Into The Blue [DVD] [2005]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/78496138.jpg "Into The Blue [DVD] [2005]")
Mar 19th, 2006
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