Deep Blue Sea
for graphic shark attacks and for language.
Reviewed by: W.J. Kimble
CONTRIBUTOR
| Moral Rating: | Very Offensive |
| Moviemaking Quality: |
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| Primary Audience: | Adults |
| Genre: | Action |
| Length: | 106 min. |
| Year of Release: | 1999 |
| USA Release: |
| Featuring | Samuel L. Jackson, Thomas Jane, Saffron Burrows, LL Cool J, Michael Rapaport, Jacqueline McKenzie, Stellan Skarsgård |
| Director |
Renny Harlin |
| Producer | |
| Distributor |
The impact this movie will have on the audience will depend on the viewer’s personal perspective. If they go to see an intellectually, stimulating movie that is not only entertaining but is accurate in every detail, they will be disappointed! If they go to see a horror flick, they should enjoy it. However, most of the time you will be able to figure out what is going to happen even before it happens. If you go to be entertained and do not care about accuracy or how much it frightens you, you will love this movie.
When I go to a movie, I want to be entertained. I want to feel like I haven’t wasted my time or my money. I want to go out feeling good about myself or somehow believe life, itself, is good. And sometimes, I simply want to feel the raw passion of the human emotion. What I mean is, I want to feel scared, tense, uneasy, mad and upset. I want to feel anguish and pain for the main characters in the movie. I want to become involved with the stars and feel what they are feeling. And I want to laugh.
“Deep Blue Sea” did this for me. Even though I knew what was going to happen (most of the time—even before it happened) I still enjoyed it. My wife and daughter, on the other hand, didn’t know what was going to happen, which resulted in their being scared stiff. But all three of us enjoyed it.
Critics will find the typical flaws, such as: sharks cannot swim backwards (even super-intelligent ones—after all, they may be smarter, but their bodies are still the same). Sharks, like humans, need to go to school to learn and just because they are smarter does not mean they can learn without being taught. And on and on it goes. But, who cares? Let the critics tear it apart, I enjoyed it. And, so did a lot of people that I have talked to.
“Deep Blue Sea” is about a group of researchers who have devised a way to use the brain tissues of sharks to cultivate a substance that, when applied to damaged human brain cells, will rejuvenate within minutes. This process is believed to cure the effects of Alzheimer’s disease. The crew of the floating laboratory, Aquatica, is now faced with almost certain death. To produce the serum needed, the crew violated ethical codes by genetically re-engineering the DNA of three mako sharks. This increased the shark’s brains five-fold, which resulted in these super-intelligent sharks being able to figure out the layout of Aquatica. Now in hot-pursuit of the crew, the mako sharks are attacking with a vengeance. No one is safe!
“Deep Blue Sea” is heavy on profanity; but the nudity is kept to a minimum. You will see two young couples making out/caressing each other onboard a boat. There is a scene when a woman removes her clothing (down to her bra and panties) revealing her wet breast and related cleavage. She does this to save her life. This movie is too intense for children and younger teens! IF the secular world deems it unsuitable for children under 17, then why shouldn’t we (the church, who are supposed to be better than they)?
Unfortunately, toward the end of what started as the 23rd Psalm, ended with a secular, humanistic twist (instead of “…I will fear no evil for thou art with me…” became “…because I carry a big stick and I beat down etc, etc.”) This is blasphemy to me because the holy scriptures were perverted. This was only a small part of the movie, but be prepared if you go with someone who does not know what the 23rd Psalms really says and means.
On the moral issues: There are three F-words, and a few of the lesser profanities. In the sex/nudity category, there is a scene in which some teen couples make out (and are attacked by a shark; perhaps a morality play) and when Saffron Burrows takes off her wetsuit to use as insulation against electricity and we see her in her underwear. In violence, there is quite a bit, but it is pretty much like “Jaws”, only with a bit more gore.
There’s other stuff though. One of the characters is a Christian who prays a lot (that’s good) and leads the others in prayer in one scene before they escape from sharks. Two, the Saffron Burrows character, though she violates professional standards, is motivated primarily to cure Alzheimers, not to make money (that’s also good). The characters often risk their lives to save others (“No greater love hath any man who lays down his life for his brother,” eh?). Three, the Samuel L. Jackson character tries to get the others to work together and be peaceful (that’s good). All in all, “Deep Blue Sea,” despite its large amount of violence, is perhaps one of the few pro-Christian horror films. It is appropriate for everyone over 11. See it today!