Director: Renny Harlin
Screenplay: Duncan Kennedy, Donna Powers, Wayne Powers
Starring: Thomas Jane, Saffron Burrows, Samuel L. Jackson, LL Cool J, Michael Rapaport, Jacqueline McKenzie, Stellan Skarsgard, Aida Turturro, Ronny Cox
Country: USA
Running Time: 105 min
Year: 1999
BBFC Certificate: 15
Dr. Susan McAlester (Burrows) has a problem. She’s so close to finding a cure for Alzheimer’s, but her wealthy financier Russell Franklin (Jackson) is about to shut her research facility down unless she and her team can prove results by the end of the weekend. If that’s not bad enough, it turns out she’s made this unprecedented progress by using the regenerative qualities of mako shark brains, and along the way decided to secretly and illegally make the sharks more intelligent in the process. With a heavy storm battering down upon the isolated oceanic compound and three genetically modified sharks on the rampage, can McAlester, Franklin, shark wrangler Carter Blake (Jane), fellow scientists Dr. Jim Whitlock (Skarsgard) and Janice Higgins (McKenzie), engineer Tom Scoggins (Rapaport), radio operator Brenda Kerns (Turturro) and chef Sherman “Preacher” Dudley (Cool J) make it to the surface and survive until rescue arrives?
Before we get going, I should be honest and say that, to me, Deep Blue Sea is cinematic perfection, so much so that I host a podcast dedicated to it (creatively titled Deep Blue Sea – The Podcast) in which my co-host Mark and I discuss Renny Harlin’s genetically modified shark-infested masterpiece scene by scene again and again, as well as covering many other films we deem Deep Blue Sea adjacent. Blueprint: Review creator David Brook and fellow contributor Andy Goulding have both been guests on the show (to discuss Deep Blue Sea, Lifeboat and Atlantis: The Lost Empire). At the time of writing, we have recorded 226 episodes, with at least 53 being solely dedicated to Deep Blue Sea, so I’ve easily spent well over two solid days talking exclusively about this aquatic opus. As such, I’m not going to spend too much time actually reviewing the film as I’m clearly biased and believe it to be amongst the greatest movies ever made.
Deep Blue Sea is a perfect showcase of its exact type of movie. The mid-to-late 90s saw a boom in creature features, after Jurassic Park (one of the few movies I think is superior to Deep Blue Sea) proved visual effects were finally at the point where creatures – both animatronic and virtual – could be more successfully directed to perform and emote as required. This saw a rise in films with threatening beasties picking off casts of recognisable character actors and musicians, often in enclosed or limited environments. Deep Blue Sea wears its credits to the likes of Jurassic Park, Alien and, of course, Jaws, on display for all to see, and whilst it never betters those paragons of cinema, it’s a darn sight more impressive than all the other formulaic copycats that came along in their wake.
There are many areas to explore as to why this is – interesting characters, unique and gruelling death sequences (something of a Renny Harlin staple), a banger of a closing credits song – but for me the real star is the production design and practical effects. The Aquatica set – shot primarily in the same tank as Titanic – was built to be destroyed, with floodable rooms and smashable windows. That, coupled with Walt Conti’s mesmerising mechanical shark models, makes for iconic sequences that should hold up forever more. Yes, some of the CGI effects look a little ropey, even for 1999, where some of the proposed shark antics were a little more ambitious than technology could quite achieve, but these days I just find that sort of thing charming.
I love Deep Blue Sea. If I haven’t convinced you yet, then there’s probably not much chance I’ll change your mind, but suffice to say this review comes with the strongest possible recommendation that you watch this film and, if you saw it 26 years ago and haven’t felt compelled to revisit it since, now is the perfect opportunity to take the plunge and dive back into the world of Aquatica.
This new special edition of Deep Blue Sea is available to buy from Arrow Video on Blu-Ray or 4K UHD from March 17th. It’s a truly glorious package, resplendent with a booklet full of fascinating behind the scenes production information, thoughtful essays and images, including four pages of prospective toy ideas that, sadly, never came to fruition (a shark squid hybrid!). There’s also a double-sided poster and post cards inside the new beautiful packaging, with artwork by Luke Preece, and there’s even more greatness on the actual disc. Alongside the archive features from the original DVD (behind the scenes features on the sharks and making the film, deleted scenes and a frankly delightful commentary with Renny Harlin and Samuel L. Jackson, in which Jackson just leaves to presumably go play golf around halfway through), there are two brand new commentaries from screenwriter Duncan Kennedy (informative, interesting, also features some discussion on his work on Bait and in the art department on T2: Judgment Day), and filmmaker, critic and all around shark movie fan Rebekah McKendry (entertaining but less informative, more like listening to a fan watching a film because that’s exactly what it is, but with the perspective of someone who knows their sharks).
The new interview with production designer William Sandell is excellent, delving into his history working on Roger Corman and Joe Dante pictures (side note, check out Joe Dante’s Piranha, it’s excellent), with the only special feature downside being the visual essay from Trace Thurman in which around twenty minutes is spent explaining how the real villain of Deep Blue Sea is Dr. Susan McAlester, because Aquatica is designed like ovaries and Janice Higgins deserved a gruesome death because she was failing as a partner and mother, despite her character being pregnant in deleted scenes. It’s the kind of piece that picks and chooses so-called evidence that supports the argument and ignores everything that doesn’t, whilst emphasising out-dated gender stereotypes; it’s literally laughable, and I burst out laughing (whilst watching it on a busy train) several times throughout. It’s also disappointing to not have the addition of the original ending, something fans have been clamouring after for quite some time, and a bonus hat designed like a shark fin would’ve been nice too. Don’t let that stop you though, this movie is an essential entry for any fan of creature features, disaster movies or, as mentioned early, films that are utterly perfect in every way.
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