Plot: What’s it about?
You know, the more films I see the more I realize that actors and, more to the point, directors – need to embrace what they’re good at. Renny Harlin has made some bad movies in his life. I’m not talking Plan Nine from Outer Space bad, but let’s just say that he’s rarely exceeded expectations. Sure there are films like Cliffhanger and The Long Kiss Goodnight that stand out, but by and large he’s given us a lot of B-Movie fodder. And that’s fine. As I said above, embrace what you’re good at. Despite relatively negative reviews of his recent Strangers films, Harlin seems to have gone back to his roots from one of his more popular films – Deep Blue Sea. Sharks in the water has been done, to death, but let’s see if we can take a fresh approach to it?
Ben (Aaron Eckhart) is the first officer of an airline (think of his character in the movie Sully if you need a reference). He takes some extra shifts to avoid to having to confront his ill son back home. He’s teamed on a flight to Shanghai with Rich (Ben Kingsley), a soon-to-retire pilot. But when a fire breaks out over the ocean, this leads to a rough landing in the water. The aircraft, now in pieces, has survivors scattered amongst the wreckage all the while Ben tries to keep them safe until help arrives. This is when things go from bad to worse as sharks arrive. We meet an array of passengers from Cora (Molly Belle Wright) and her new stepbrother, Finn (Elijah Tamati), some athletes as well as an older woman traveling to visit her granddaughter. By the laws of this genre, there has to be an annoying, over-the-top antagonist and we find him in spades as Dan (Angus Sampson), quite possibly the worst person ever. I wonder how his character will fare?
Like the movie Speed, which is essentially three movies in one, we get the same effect here. The first is the plane crash only to be followed by the shark attack(s). To the film’s credit, the second part is done in graphic detail which does emphasize the horrific nature of what these people are going through. I recall seeing a feature on the Deep Blue Sea DVD some years ago in which the actor there, Thomas Jane, said “I’m never going in the water again. I know how many sharks are out there. I’m staying on land.” I tend to share his perspective. Limbs are severed, bodies are bitten in half – this movie pulls no punches. And with two competent leads in Aaron Eckhart and Ben Kingsley, there’s enough experience that they elevate this over its typical “B” Movie status. Not much, but they make it more tolerable.
Video: How’s it look?
As we might expect, the transfer found on this 2.35:1 AVC HD encode is top notch. Granted, a lot of movies that take place in and around the water tend to have a murky appearance. This is true here, to a point, but by and large it’s a nice-looking transfer. Detail is solid, which comes into play during some of the “feasting” scenes. That’s either really good or really bad. Colors are bold and bright, but tend to take a plunge (see what I did there?) in the latter half of the film.
Audio: How’s it sound?
The included DTS HD Master Audio track packs a punch with the plane’s crash landing sequence, though it gets a bit muted as the film progresses. The splashing of water, the “crunch” of a shark attack and so forth do add a lot of action to the speakers churning out the audio. Vocals are pitch perfect as well with surrounds adding some extra oomph to some key scenes.
Supplements: What are the extras?
No supplemental features have been included.
The Bottom Line
Likely this film won’t be shown on overseas flights. At least I hope it won’t. But despite the cliched theme, it managed to entertain. Both Eckhart and Kingsley do their best with the material given and the result is more entertaining than I’d have thought.
