Director Renny Harlin, maker of the camp-classic shark thriller Deep Blue Sea, goes back to the well for another serving of shark mayhem with Deep Water. In some ways, this is a spiritual sequel to Deep Blue Sea—but, sadly, it’s not nearly as fun.
Harlin opted for mako sharks (genetically engineered mako sharks, mind you) in Deep Blue Sea; those sharks were a vicious-looking breed with a pointy snout and a generally evil appearance. They featured prominently in the first film, but they are hidden during most of their carnage in Deep Water. It’s as if the production didn’t have the budget to show them much.
The selling point for this movie is that people get attacked by sharks after a plane crash. That’s some next-level bad luck for the people on the plane (piloted by Ben Kingsley, aka Gandhi, and Aaron Eckhart, aka Two-Face). Why does the plane crash? You know how the airline folks always ask about lithium batteries in your luggage? Well, somebody lies.
The plane crash is pretty good, but its aftermath is a little silly, as parts of the plane’s fuselage are left in various states, precariously perched on coral reefs and giving survivors a place to camp out and seek solace from the ocean beasts. Those beasts get to work pretty quickly, picking off survivors as they go for a swim.
The shark carnage features a lot of people thrashing around while the water goes red. The attacks are just not on the level of fun Harlin achieved with his indoor science facility in Deep Blue Sea. They lack suspense, and the R-rated film often feels closer to PG-13.
How do you make a film featuring a plane crash and shark attacks boring? You cast an actor with a faltering career (Eckhart) and urge for him to overact. Eckhart is basically playing Gene Hackman’s role in The Poseidon Adventure (which Harlin references a few times in this film)—and he’s tragically dull. Kingsley isn’t really a factor.
The shark effects are not impressive; the acting is awful; the sound work is terrible; and the whole thing looks and sounds cheap. It’s OK to look and sound cheap with a B-movie, but Harlin is shooting for a blockbuster here. This is cheap TV trying to make it as a big-screen affair.
Color me severely disappointed. As a lover of good shark films, I thought we had a can’t-miss affair with sharks, Harlin directing—and a plane crash! Sadly, Deep Water feels like streaming-only, cast-off fare.