Plot: What’s it about?
I can vaguely remember the advertisements for “Into the Blue”. I was walking in a mall a few months back and remember seeing a bikini-clad Jessica Alba and thought “I’ll have to check that out when it comes out on DVD”. So I did. Alba is everywhere these days, from playing Susan Storm in “Fantastic Four” to her role in “Sin City” and I think that she felt this movie might have been one she could have fun with. Honestly, I was expecting some really bad things from the film and when you see Paul Walker, you don’t get the best feeling. But judging books by their covers (or movies by their posters) isn’t the way to be and I have to admit that I found “Into the Blue” a lot more likeable than I had imagined. Sure the theme of buried treasure and evil drug lords has been done time and again, but we then go back to Jessica Alba’s bikini-clad body (oh wait…that’s the whole “book by the cover thing” again, isn’t it)?
Alba plays Sam, girlfriend of Jared (Paul Walker), someone who has just quit his job as a diving instructor. They live in near poverty, but somehow seem to have the time and money to go out diving for buried treasure. Yep, they’re looking for the literal pot of gold in their free time. Local captain Bates (Josh Brolin) is in the same business, but he’s got more money and resources, little to Jared and Sam know what Bates is really up to. The plot thickens when Bryce (Scott Caan) and Amanda (Ashley Scott) show up. While on a diving excursion, the four discover a downed plane carrying quite the expensive cargo of illegal drugs. Naturally, the drug dealer is nearby and after some debating, the four get caught and must make amends lest they be killed by the “evil drug lord”. Will Jared and Sam find that elusive treasure so Jared won’t have to get a job or will the treasure of “Into the Blue” be lost forever?
Video: How does it look?
If there’s one thing that can be said about “Into the Blue” is that the transfer is so crystal clear, you feel like you’re down in the Caribbean with Jared and Sam. The very spacious 2.40:1 picture looks great and if the cover of the DVD is any indication, there’s plenty of sun soaked scenes and bikinis to keep you occupied for the 110 minute running-time. Everything has a very saturated look and feel to it, which was the point. There were a few scenes that looked a bit soft around the edges, but on the whole this is a reference quality picture and certainly something that you can use to show off how beautiful images can look on DVD. Oh and plenty of bikini shots of Jessica Alba, but we already knew that…
Audio: How does it sound?
The Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack is very robust at times – there’s something about bubbles in the water that seem to engulf the viewer, giving you the feeling that you’re “right there”. Then again that’s the point. There are a few good scenes, a car chase, the opening credits feature a plane crash and the general ambiance of the movie is fairly strong. Dialogue is focused and clean and even though Paul Walker consistently does his best “Keanu”, I didn’t find him hard to understand. I can’t imagine the soundtrack sounding too much better or worse, it’s above average for the genre and Sony has done a good job here, as per ususal.
Supplements: What are the extras?
When it comes to value-added supplements “Into the Blue” packs just enough to keep the viewer entertained, but not a whole lot more. There is a feature-length commentary track by Director John Stockwell who talks of the shoot and working with Walker and Alba. Stockwell seems to know his stuff, though a lot of the information is repeated in the featurette. Several deleted scenes are shown along with commentary, and the obligatory featurette is included as well containing some behind the scenes segments and interviews with the cast and crew. A feature that I always find interesting are the screen tests and there are a few with Scott Caan and Paul Walker. On the whole, “Into the Blue” wasn’t a bad movie; in fact I rather enjoyed it. Check your brain at the door, grab yourself a Pina Colada and you should have a blast!
