Deep Blue Sea [1999] (REGION 1) (NTSC)

RRP Lowest New Price £2.53

Warner Home Video Release date: Tuesday 7th of December 1999 Starring: Saffron Burrows, Jacqueline McKenzie, Samuel L. Jackson, LL Cool J, Thomas Jane, Director(s): Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Colour, Dolby, DVD-Video, NTSC, Widescreen, Region code: 1 Running time: 105 minutes Language: English (Original Language) Language: English (Subtitled)

Editorial
Amazon.co.uk Review

Renny Harlin's first feature since The Long Kiss Goodnight reinvents the rampaging shark movie for the digital age. Echoing Alien and Deep Rising, a typically motley crew is trapped and terrorised in a remote ocean research station incapacitated by storms. Saffron Burrows' scientist has devised a means of using shark brain-tissue to fight Alzheimer's Disease, but it has the unfortunate side effect of increasing by fivefold the intelligence of the station's three test sharks. Once the sharks escape captivity, their captors become prey and Burrows, along with Thomas Jane's diver and corporate sponsor Samuel L. Jackson, are pursued through the station's maze of corridors. LL Cool J also appears as the most unlikely action-movie chef since Steven Seagal in Under Siege, chanting Biblical passages to his pet parrot and choosing the perfect omelette recipe as his message for posterity.

As the bizarre premise indicates, this is not a film for those seeking great acting or rich narrative complexities, but it does deliver action and effects in abundance, particularly with the state-of-the-art computer-generated sharks themselves. While they'll never attain the iconic status of Bruce in Steven Spielberg's Jaws (still the granddaddy of all screen sharks), Harlin's swift predators are clever enough to open doors and operate an oven. As the water level rises, Burrows indulges in some Sigourney Weaver-in-Alien-style disrobing, there is one of the great surprise-death scenes, shocking and funny in equal measure, and all concerned keep their tongues firmly in cheek. This DVD version also features commentaries from Harlin and Jackson, deleted scenes, a "making of" feature and a documentary on sharks. --Steve Napleton

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Editorial
Amazon.co.uk Review

With a voracious trio of mako sharks wreaking havoc, Deep Blue Sea dares to up the ante on Jaws, but director Renny Harlin trades the nuanced suspense of Spielberg's 1975 blockbuster for the trickery of the digital age. In other words, why build genuine terror when you can show ill-fated humans getting torn into bloody chunks? The aforementioned makos have been lab rats in an effort to harvest a miracle cure for Alzheimer's disease from the brains of sharks, but the research has an unfortunate side effect: the sharks get smarter, and they are determined to break out of Aquatica, the deep-sea complex where they've been penned.

Model-actress Saffron Burrows plays the researcher; Thomas Jane pulls double-duty as shark expert and action hunk; Samuel L. Jackson's the corporate sponsor who chooses the worst time for an Aquatica tour; and rapper LL Cool J is nicely cast as Aquatica's cook and comic relief. Michael Rapaport, Jacqueline McKenzie and Stellan Skarsgård round out the cast, most of whom are turned into shark food as the makos turn Aquatica into a floating junkyard. Harlin takes devilish pleasure in providing sudden, unexpected shocks--no small feat in such a derivative thriller--and as a series of action set-pieces, Deep Blue Sea never disappoints. It is inevitable that Burrows should end up in her underwear like Sigourney Weaver in Alien, but even then the movie offers a credible reason for the strip-down; that Deep Blue Sea can be simultaneously ridiculous and sensible is just another one of its shlocky charms. --Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com

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A Deep Blue Sea on it's first viewing, but Shallow Blue Pool 2nd time round
Review date: 2008-02-15 Rating: 6 out of 10

I remember watching this film when it came out, and was absorbed by the suspense and surprise, yet random 'deaths' that occurred throughout. In typical fashion, I lent it off a mate at school, who I'm sure we all knew one, had dad who was a bit dodgy... and had the pirate copy on VHS. It was a big talking point, and we all laughed over various parts of the film.

Unfortunately, I personally don't think the film is half as good second time round. I'm sure it's not just me now that i'm older, but it seemed the more I tried to take it all in, the less convincing it all is. Sammy L Jacksons grand killing scene is only good enough for a snigger, whereas I remember my mum jumping out of her skin originally. Even the CGI hasn't aged well, leaving the sharks roaming around like un-natural robots - clearly out of sync when compared to the animotronic scenes.

One thing that hasn't changed is the superbly amateurish acting that leaves Sammy L as the only winner, though he chose the wrong day to go looking at sharks.. The script is descent, but predictably cheesy in parts, especially the end when the last shark has been killed;

"Hey! How about some Sushi?" (accompanied minutes later by rock music)

If its any consolation, the coolest cast of the film; a chef who's only friend is a wise-cracking bird who swears, survives and manages to save the day three times over; destroying 2 sharks and opening a hatch.

And of course, our only English actor dies after giving the usual stereotypical 'brainiac' performance (they must do this to leave the U.S actors looking cooler...) Her fate is sealed at the end of the film, and the only other female counterpart takes a nasty tumble on a ladder earlier on, following the same path.. lunch time!

With such 'epic' survival films, one is always made to be attracted to the token blonde woman and hunk-man that save the day. Not such the case here - our muscle man of the film, Ronny Cox, is about as shallow as a puddle and un-interesting as a bucket of varnish that's been found in your mothers attic. And Thomas Jane, who is apparently a Model stroke Actor, seems to have fallen for the good old 'Size Zero is best' fashion.

Thomas Jane's voice will in time get on your nerves, but if you can ignore the fact she sounds like she's been injected with testosterone, this is a real laugh for those of us who can see through such poor efforts to create a 'suspense' themed movie. In reality, it's nothing more than an effort to see how many ways a CGI body can be cut apart by manic sharks.

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