brilliant actors, brilliant editing

As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

Deep Blue SeaAfter watching and immensely enjoying The Meg recently I have a hunger now for more shark filled movie treats. So I thought I would revisit a film that is becoming old enough now to be considered as a classic of the genre. By no means is Deep Blue Sea a masterpiece but like The Meg it is a damn good time.Originally released way back in 1999 it's a movie that hasn't aged well in terms of visual effects. Set on a remote research station way out at sea a group of scientists try to find a cure for Alzheimer's disease. Lead Scientist Dr Susan McAlester played rather coldly by Saffron Burrows has discovered that a certain protein which resides in the brain of sharks holds the key to such a cure. The problem is to harvest enough protein the scientists need to make the sharks brains much bigger. Bigger brain means smarter fish which means sooner or later the clever carnivores will over throw their human captors. Sounds absolutely ridiculous doesn't it? Well you're right it is but DBS still manages to grip and enthral its audience with a series of nail biting set pieces. Director Renny Harlin sure knows how to direct good action scenes. With movies like Cliffhanger, Die Hard 2 and The Long Kiss Goodnight under his belt he sure has a proven track record.Deep Blue Sea is an exciting movie with a good ensemble of characters. Harlin devotes just enough time to allow the audience to get to know the crew. That way when the gruesome deaths start to happen we will root for those onscreen.DBS is as much a disaster movie as it is a shark one. The brainy beasts figure out that by sinking Aquatica (the inventively named research station) they will be able to escape out into the ocean. Apparently that's what a 8000-pound Mako shark with a brain the size of a flathead V-8 engine and no natural predators thinks about! By sinking the facility the humans become trapped and must also fight to get out without either drowning or being devoured.What makes Deep Blue Sea work isn't the action or the terrible CGI but the cast. Renny Harlin really has managed to wrangle together a great set of performers here who help sell this rather silly B movie. This was the first time I had seen Thomas Jane in a movie and I think he's the real stand out here. He plays Carter Blake, a shark wrangler who you just know is the dude who will save the day. From his charismatic performance here I believed he would go on to be the next big action star. Sadly it didn't work out that way. Stellan Skarsgard is believable as the eccentric scientist Jim Witlock. His gruesome death being a particular highlight. Also LL Cool J brings the comedy element as the god fearing chef named Preacher. It is perhaps Samuel L Jackson who is the weakest link. He basically plays himself again and it's fitting when he gets ripped in two by two hungry sharks mid way through the movie. This particular scene brings me on to the special effects. Sam Jackson's death scene is one of the worst CGI creations in the history of cinema. The problem is the computer generated sharks don't move naturally. There's no organic flow to their movement. They appear not to be moving through liquid but rather like gliding through air. It's rather distracting and the fish look like poorly rendered visuals from an early PlayStation game. The animatronic effects fair much better. The mechanical creations move through water much more convincingly and they are detailed superbly. Well they are until you notice that a Tiger shark looks exactly the same as a Mako only with stripes. In reality a Tiger shark has a much blunter snout and bulkier body. Here though the SFX guys have just used the same model only spray painted stripes over its back to make it look like a different species. People who love all things Sharky will notice this!Comparing DBS to other movies of the genre. It's never going to live up to the legend that is Jaws and unlike The Shallows, which starts out as a supremely crafted thriller only to nose dive into the sea of crazy in the last five minutes, like The Meg, Deep Blue Sea is a silly film so you just go along with the silliness. There's no jarring changes of personality in the movies tone. From start to finish it is pure action and suspense held together by a bunch of likeable characters that the audience will grow to care for. I enjoyed my return to The Deep Blue Sea and if its a Shark movie you haven't seen, it's one you should definitely check out.

A uniquely different take on the shark genre. Insanely suspenseful and entertaining, with action from beginning to end. The helicopter crash scene during the storm must be one of the most amazing scenes!! Thomas Jane makes a credible hero and LL Cool J is effective as the comic relief. The sharks are realistically done, thus ensuring the suspense.

Searching for a cure to Alzheimer's disease, a group of scientists on an isolated research facility become the prey, as a trio of intelligent sharks fight back. Deep Blue Sea might lack a good plot, cgi and above all it lacks realism but that's what made it into a classic. It's no Jaws or Shallows or even Jaws II in terms of quality but it ain't no Jaws IV. It has an incredible and talented cast of actors like Thomas Jane and Samuel L. Jackson, the most badass Chef on the planet and above all the most over the top death of all time. This isn't a masterpiece or a great movie but unlike Sharknado and other insane ideas it's actually the most well made of them all. (A+)

I really loved this film and could probably watch it over and over because I love creature films but most creature films are filled with crappy effects and a lesser- known cast. While 'Jaws' was a classic and a league of its own, this was fast-paced with lots of shark action and had good/realistic effects. When you compare it to the many many cheesy shark films out there, this one doesn't deserve the low rating.