Deep Blue Sea

A team of research scientists genetically toy with sharks in order to find a cure for the human disorder of Alzheimer. When things go awry, the sharks get smarter, angrier and stronger. They also want to chew up those damn humans!

In my mind, the definition of a “fun summer popcorn flick” has something to do with turning off your brain at the door, enjoying the thrills and chills of a preposterous yet interesting situation, laughing, biting your fingernails, and having a blast, whilst digging into your preferred snack de la jour (Nachos, cheese and salsa for me, thank you very much). If you go into this movie expecting to find the answers to genetic testing on animals and its ability to cure human diseases, you will be highly disappointed. If, on the other hand, you are going into this film expecting to find some cool-looking sharks chewing on human bodies, one-liners galore, over-the-top situations which hold you in bated breath, and a motley cast of diverse characters just waiting to be ripped to bits by these mutated sharks…then this puppy is definitely the summer movie for you! Think…JAWS on speed.

Unlike THE HAUNTING (3/10), this summer film doesn’t rely solely on its special effects to do the trick. It adds interesting and entertaining characters, a plausible plot, some nice style, a heart-pounding score and even some genre-bending surprises here and there. I personally would have liked to have seen more of those rapid-fire sharks crunching into folk, but hey, I’m just a guy munching on nachos down here. The plot also doesn’t take long to get going, and once it does, you could expect all kinds of crazy shark action. The story is obviously not rich in breadth, with a simple “shark angry-let’s get away from the shark” explanation covering the rest of the film, but director Renny Harlin makes sure that we all have a blast in the meantime. Actor-wise, it is LL Cool J who steals the show with his one-liners, with the “Sam Jackson scene” being the most memorable, and the shark wrangler dude, Thomas Jane, also pulling in a fine performance. If you can’t stomach scenes featuring humans being chewed up by large sharks, well guess what, stay away from this movie! But if you’re looking for mindless entertainment, with a diverse cast, fun thrills and some super cool sharks, sharpen your fins and get your ass on over to your nearest multiplex, and prepare to dive right into this deep blue sea of blood (Okay, okay…no more puns!).

(c) 2021 Berge Garabedian