Deep Blue Sea
What?
Total cheese fest. Corny, clichéd, and over done. Defined as being an utterly mediocre guilty pleasure of substandard proportions. Each of these would adequately describe my sentiments toward Deep Blue Sea. A bad movie whose plot sounded like a good idea on paper but was executed with bland results does indeed end up making for a pretty weak representation on Blu-ray. I’ve seen this a few times on one of the cable networks in primetime and only really remember the sharks, L.L. Cool J and Sam Jackson. Basically, Deep Blue Sea centers on sharks, poor special effects, and how man shouldn’t mess with evolution or aquatic DNA manipulation. The only way this should be viewed is with plenty of beer or friends to help make things bearable. If you aren’t wondering why this movie was green lit as you’re watching, it’s probably because you’re laughing at it too hard to care. I can’t decide whether it’s more difficult to sit down and view this movie or find something redeeming to focus on. I suppose taking Deep Blue Sea with a grain of salt and having fun with the bloated nonsensical, dragging plot is the best way to approach whatever this is. But hey, Sam Jackson’s here, there’s some pretty funny (in a bad way) action scenes and…sharks! The most straightforward way to describe Deep Blue Sea would be to visualize the worst version of Jaws ever conceived. No, I take that back. That’s more of a knock against Jaws. Actually, it’s better not to even think about Deep Blue Sea. In fact, I’ve already said too much.
Optics:
We’ve come a long way since 1999. The effects used on Deep Blue Sea during that time are shockingly pedestrian and seriously stick out like a sore thumb. VC-1 treats the movie rather amicably with only a so-so transfer. I can’t really say any of the visuals garnered my attention other than the hideous effects that are littered throughout. Other than that, it’s decent to look at and is certainly better than any other format Deep Blue Sea is available on. The crushed blacks, a tad of DNR and some EE hurt Deep Blue Sea’s boosted detail, accurate facial shades, cool and hot post processed colors.
Sonics:
It was impossible for the audio to be less enthralling than the video. The action comes through remarkably well with the DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack and puts quite a thumping out. Bass, high and low ends seem to sound best, but dialogue was rather muffed. The calamity of loud noises collided against itself and certain scenes just sounded like blaring foley work. If Deep Blue Sea had a best part, it would have to be when action picks up and the effective musical score could be heard unfettered. Not much to brag about, but it’d probably be more entertaining to just listen to Deep Blue Sea rather than to actually watch it.
Extras:
The biggest draw in the special features has to be the audio commentary with director Renny Harlin and Samuel L. Jackson. Aside from that, there’s only two featurettes called “When Sharks Attack” and “Sharks of The Deep Blue Sea” which can easily be missed. Last, and probably least, are the deleted scenes and trailers. With or without a horde of extras, Deep Blue Sea isn’t all that great.
Well?
Should you need a lower tier action movie on a lazy Saturday, you could probably do better than Deep Blue Sea. For the three fans of this movie that are out there, yes, this is an upgrade. But why would you own this in the first place?
Grant Iwan
Total cheese fest. Corny, clichéd, and over done. Defined as being an utterly mediocre guilty pleasure of substandard proportions. Each of these would adequately describe my sentiments toward Deep Blue Sea. A bad movie whose plot sounded like a good idea on paper but was executed with bland results does indeed end up making for a pretty weak representation on Blu-ray. I’ve seen this a few times on one of the cable networks in primetime and only really remember the sharks, L.L. Cool J and Sam Jackson. Basically, Deep Blue Sea centers on sharks, poor special effects, and how man shouldn’t mess with evolution or aquatic DNA manipulation. The only way this should be viewed is with plenty of beer or friends to help make things bearable. If you aren’t wondering why this movie was green lit as you’re watching, it’s probably because you’re laughing at it too hard to care. I can’t decide whether it’s more difficult to sit down and view this movie or find something redeeming to focus on. I suppose taking Deep Blue Sea with a grain of salt and having fun with the bloated nonsensical, dragging plot is the best way to approach whatever this is. But hey, Sam Jackson’s here, there’s some pretty funny (in a bad way) action scenes and…sharks! The most straightforward way to describe Deep Blue Sea would be to visualize the worst version of Jaws ever conceived. No, I take that back. That’s more of a knock against Jaws. Actually, it’s better not to even think about Deep Blue Sea. In fact, I’ve already said too much.
Optics:
We’ve come a long way since 1999. The effects used on Deep Blue Sea during that time are shockingly pedestrian and seriously stick out like a sore thumb. VC-1 treats the movie rather amicably with only a so-so transfer. I can’t really say any of the visuals garnered my attention other than the hideous effects that are littered throughout. Other than that, it’s decent to look at and is certainly better than any other format Deep Blue Sea is available on. The crushed blacks, a tad of DNR and some EE hurt Deep Blue Sea’s boosted detail, accurate facial shades, cool and hot post processed colors.
Sonics:
It was impossible for the audio to be less enthralling than the video. The action comes through remarkably well with the DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack and puts quite a thumping out. Bass, high and low ends seem to sound best, but dialogue was rather muffed. The calamity of loud noises collided against itself and certain scenes just sounded like blaring foley work. If Deep Blue Sea had a best part, it would have to be when action picks up and the effective musical score could be heard unfettered. Not much to brag about, but it’d probably be more entertaining to just listen to Deep Blue Sea rather than to actually watch it.
Extras:
The biggest draw in the special features has to be the audio commentary with director Renny Harlin and Samuel L. Jackson. Aside from that, there’s only two featurettes called “When Sharks Attack” and “Sharks of The Deep Blue Sea” which can easily be missed. Last, and probably least, are the deleted scenes and trailers. With or without a horde of extras, Deep Blue Sea isn’t all that great.
Well?
Should you need a lower tier action movie on a lazy Saturday, you could probably do better than Deep Blue Sea. For the three fans of this movie that are out there, yes, this is an upgrade. But why would you own this in the first place?
Grant Iwan
Director:
Renny Harlin
Starring:
Thomas Lane
Saffron Burrows
Samuel L. Jackson
L.L. Cool J
Michael Rapaport
Jacqueline McKenzie
Best line:
"You ate my bird!"
Tagline:
"How fast can you swim?"
Description:
Warner Bros
UK
Region free
Rated 15
1 Hr 45 Min
2.35:1
VC-1/BD25
DTS-HD MA 5.1
(Eng, Fra, Ger, Spa)
Subtitles: Eng, Fra, Ger, Spa, Dutch, Dan, Fin, Swe, Rom, Port
Audio commentary with Renny Harlin and Samuel L. Jackson
'When Sharks Attack'
'Sharks of The Deep Blue Sea'
Theatrical trailer
Delete scenes with optional commentary by Renny Harlin
Ratings: (Out of 10)
Film 1.0
Optics 7.0
Sonics 8.0
Extras 5.0
Overall 5.0
