Directed by:  Renny Harlin
Written by:  Duncan Kennedy
Starring:  Samuel L. Jackson, Thomas Jane, Saffron
Burrows, Michael Rapaport, LL Cool J, Stellan Skarsgard
 

January 4, 2000

         Renny Harlin, director of such cinematic classics as Cutthroat Island and The Long Kiss Goodnight, shows his creativity by jumping into the sci-fi genre like no one else these days in Hollywood.  In Deep Blue Sea, sharks never get disease as they grow old, so scientists have the bright idea of altering their genetics to find cures to such diseases as Alzheimer's.  
         Guess what, this plan backfires on them and the sharks chase the scientists for the rest of the film.  I thought I saw this plot a few years back when it was called Jurassic Park.  The opening of the film and two of the shark death scenes reminds me of a little known film called Jaws, and its sequel.
         Once I got past the plot, I paid attention to the special effects.  There's of course the cgi fire which has that cartoonish look to it, and even one scene where a flying parrot looks digitally enhanced for some reason.  I like how when Jim Whitlock (Skarsgard) has his arm bitten off, I could see the actor's real arm under his shirt.
         I wasn't aware that when I went into Deep Blue Sea that it was a comedy.  I found myself rooting for the sharks and waiting for the next scientist to die.  Unfortunately this film won't reach the level of Harlin’s previous Cutthroat Island, that of being one of the biggest bomb's in box-office history.
 

Recommended Alternatives:  Jaws, Jurassic Park, The Abyss

-Reviewed in Theater-

Nominated for
3 Fidelio Film Awards

Worst Director Renny Harlin (left)	Worst Original Screenplay Duncan Kennedy
Worst Special Effects