Deep Blue Sea, 1999.
Directed by Renny Harlin.
Starring Thomas Jane, Saffron Burrows, Samuel L. Jackson, Stellan Skarsgård, LL Cool J, Michael Rapaport, and Aida Turturro.
SYNOPSIS:
A team of scientists researching a cure for Alzheimer’s on an isolated facility become the victims of sharks with increased intelligence, thanks to their experiments.
Jaws may be the daddy of shark movies and Jaws 2 is the one that gets ripped off and copied, but 1999s Deep Blue Sea also seems to hold a special place in the hearts of monster movie fans. It could be because the last big shark movie before that was Jaws: The Revenge, a movie that has a special genre all of its own, so something new was needed, and with special effects having come a long way since the days of mechanical sharks malfunctioning and causing problems on set, the stars were aligned to bring the terrors of the deep back once again.
However, that was way back in 1999, and a lot has changed again since then, as shark movies are now made seemingly every week, still ripping off the plot of Jaws 2 but with CGI effects that vary in quality from the cartoonish to ‘how did they make a shark do that?’. Still, Arrow Video have seen fit to bring this landmark shark movie back in a 4K UHD package to sit alongside their other recent mainstream movie upgrades, but does it still hold up amongst the current crop?
Sort of, because let’s be honest, despite Deep Blue Sea boasting some excellent practical effects, the CGI always left a lot to be desired, looking a bit rubbish back in 1999 and not really improving with a 4K upgrade, although this isn’t a remaster so the (slightly) improved contrasting only really highlights what was already there. The saving grace is that Deep Blue Sea was made during a time when CGI was used to enhance practical effects rather than replace them, and when the animatronic sharks are shown up close, they do look terrifyingly real.
In fact, the sharks are the main stars in more ways than one because, despite having some names in the cast, the model fish display more charisma than any of the human actors. Samuel L. Jackson and LL Cool J seem to realise what kind of a movie they are in – essentially, a B-movie made on a major studio budget – and pitch their performances accordingly, but rarely in the realms of blockbuster cinema have there been two leads in one movie less charismatic than Thomas Jane and Saffron Burrows.
Jane is trying to be the all-American hero as shark trainer Carter Blake, giving it his best Snake Plissken gruffness and Indiana Jones aloofness, but his bleach-blonde hair and half-witted expressions just don’t gel with the dialogue he is trying to deliver and he comes across like a parody of Flash Gordon. However, his performance is almost Oscar-worthy when compared to Saffron Burrows and her dead-behind-the-eyes turn as Dr. Susan McAlester, the lead scientist and the one who has broken medical convention and artificially increased the sharks’ brain mass in order that they produce more brain juice to fight Alzheimer’s. In other hands that would be a meaty role, and an actor who could pitch it at the right tone would make Dr. McAlester a character you can cheer or boo, depending on what scene she is in. It is a charisma-free performance, and when she and Thomas Jane are together there is more chemistry going on in the artificial shark’s artificial brains than there is on the screen.
Deep Blue Sea also features Stellan Skarsgård in a role that feels like it was written for someone else who isn’t as much of an onscreen presence, and Michael Rapaport doing his best to be the cool sidekick but the script doesn’t allow him too much personality in case he outshines Thomas Jane, which he does. Nevertheless, in keeping with the B-movie plot, we have a cast who deliver B (and in some cases, C and D)-movie performances, along with other such contrivances that raise questions, like how do people trapped in small tunnels in waist-high water get surprised by 45-foot, 8000-pound shark sneaking up on them? We know these are the dimensions because we are told, but any other logic seems to float away to the surface once the proverbial hits the fan.
But the point of a B-movie is not to question the logic and to just enjoy the spectacle, and Deep Blue Sea is enjoyable if you don’t question too much about it (such as why is RoboCop/Total Recall legend Ronny Cox in one scene and does not say a word?). The sharks are terrifying and when seen swimming in the dark water outside the facility are exceptionally creepy, there is a brilliantly daft kill for one character that Steven Spielberg would never have attempted in his wildest dreams back in the 1970s and, of course, a very famous scene involving one character giving a speech – you likely know who and what happens, but if you don’t, you’ll just have to watch it.
All of which makes Deep Blue Sea a fun, but flawed, time at the movies, so does this 4K UHD presentation warrant an upgrade if you already own it? Well, if you own it on DVD then yes, but if you upgraded to Blu-ray a few years back then you may want to hold onto your pennies, unless you really need a poster, a book containing essays and previously unseen production notes, and a set of postcards. Extras on the disc include brand new audio commentaries by screenwriter Duncan Kennedy and critic Rebekah McKendry, a brand-new interview with production designer William Sandell and a video essay by film critic Trace Thurman, all of which provide analysis with the benefit of hindsight, but there is nothing new from any of the cast or director Renny Harlin.
There are a lot of archive extras ported over from previous releases, so if you want to hear Harlin and Samuel L. Jackson talking about the movie from the time then you can do so, but as far as picture quality goes, there really isn’t a significant difference from the previous Blu-ray release, with one or two lit-up scenes looking a little crisper, but with none of the CGI touched up and the film grade looking a little flat – like a lot of ‘90s movies did, and still do – it depends how much you really need the retrospective thoughts of the production designer in your life that should guide your hand on purchasing this one.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★
Chris Ward
