Deep Blue Sea

Released: 1999

Reviewed: 10.29.09
Star rating: 3 out of 5

Thomas Jane (Carter), Saffron Burrows (Susan), LL Cool J (Preacher), Michael Rapaport (Scoggs), Stellan Skarsgard (Jim), Samuel L. Jackson (Franklin), Jacqueline McKenzie (Janice), Aida Turturro (Brenda).

What happens when you make a sharks brain 5 times larger than normal? It gets really smart. And when you trap it underwater with a group of humans (snacks), it gets angry as well. That's what happens after Susan genetically alters a group of sharks for research purposes. But once the sharks get smart they develop their own ideas about who is at the top of the food chain.



This one starts off looking like another episode in the Jaws franchise but soon turns into something different. With some awkward character development out of the way the film shifts gears and the plot starts to unfold. Or is that, unravel? Carter suspects the sharks may be getting smarter but when corporate executive Franklin shows up it becomes fairly obvious, as evidenced by the quote "What does an 8 thousand pound Mako shark with a brain the size of a flat-head V8 engine and no natural predators think about?" The better question is, why do they not realize what is happening sooner since one of the sharks already got out? And, how does an 8 thousand pound shark fit easily through a bulkhead door?

Acting was pretty good surprisingly. The main characters all delivered pretty well and fit their roles nicely. Cool J as a preacher was a bit hard to swallow at first but Jackson as a jerk is easy to swallow for more than just the audience.

Camera work, sets, and backgrounds were nicely done. Despite the film spending a lot of time in the water it was very watchable. Special effects were nicely done though CGI was very obvious at times.

Despite the plot holes this was a nicely done creature feature. Good acting and filming gave this a feeling of quality making it much better than a lot of genetic horror flicks. With some graphic violence, gore, and foul language save this one for teens and above.