Deep Blue Sea

Pity about the clumsy and glaring computer effects that drag the whole project into the realm of B movies, because this film has a large number of good things, from the unpredictability of the plot to the solidly designed underwater laboratory. The expert talk about an Alzheimer's vaccine is not believable but, of course, there has to be some kind of mission. Surprisingly, the sharks are nothing special and except for a few shots, they are not worth much. Much better is the human shark, Thomas Jane, and the priest played by LL Cool J, whose coolness could fill buckets. I enjoyed the bloody scenes and the severed limbs, but the excessive straightforwardness and numerous plot mistakes are disappointing. (04/17/2007)

This is a very decently filmed "survival" film with a big ugly toothy animal in the lead role. I like the perspective with which the creators make fools of the genre clichés, I like the effects, and I like the dense atmosphere... Although I have no excessive sympathy for this kind of film, Harlin has made something that can reliably entertain and frighten me, although the first viewing is hard to beat... (05/21/2004)

Deep Blue Sea is bullshit. It’s better to not even think about it. Other than some excellent action scenes, it offers only one positive. The characters who “will definitely survive” are the ones who get eaten instead of the character that you really hope will die (e.g. the cook played by LL Cool J). This unpredictability of the screenplay gives the film both a bit of suspense and, after the absurd “untimely” death of one of the main characters, a likably ironic humor that justifies all of the illogic while screaming: “Yes, I am bullshit. Don’t worry about it and just let yourself be swept away by a raging hurricane of first-rate action entertainment!” (05/18/2002)

Amazing film and I'm surprised I didn't get to it until today. Thomas Jane is probably cool in every movie and I love his acting; Samuel L. Jackson is a delight as well. The film is adrenaline-pumping and thrilling from start to finish, it features visually good and fine bloody action scenes and the sharks look unexpectedly very good for their time. It's quite astonishing that no one can make a shark horror film like this nowadays. (02/28/2015)

A film that's amusing in many moments, to the point where you laugh at the absurdity unfolding on the screen. However, there's a big plus: the creators didn’t intend to make a serious film, and it’s immediately clear that it’s meant to be lighthearted. And that’s why I enjoyed it. Considering the film belongs to the last millennium, the special effects are impressive (yes, they look somewhat amusing today, but for the time, they were a quality technical achievement). The casting also deserves a thumbs up, as it’s full of famous names. The film can’t be boring because there’s always something happening, so your eyes will stay glued to the screen throughout. The story isn’t anything spectacular, but on the other hand, there were a few huge twists that I definitely didn’t expect. The sci-fi label fits; honestly, we probably wouldn’t want such a shark, as these intelligent creatures would make quite a mess of us. I was pleasantly surprised by the choice of director, as Harlin is indeed a great director. He managed to include a situation in the film somewhat reminiscent of a scene from Cliffhanger at the beginning, except here, instead of falling into a deep chasm, it was a fall into the jaws of a bloodthirsty predator. The ending is satisfactory, a decent slaughterfest overall. I give it 72%. (05/17/2018)