A group of international passengers en route from Los Angeles to Shanghai are forced to make an emergency landing in shark-infested waters. Now they must work together in hopes to overcome the frenzy of sharks drawn to the wreckage.
Chuck says:
In the spirit of giving credit where it’s due, my hat’s off to director Renny Harlan and screenwriters Pete Bridges, Shayne Armstrong, S.P. Krause and Damien Power, where their latest film, “Deep Water” is concerned. All involved obviously embraced the notion of making the ultimate disaster movie, shamelessly cribbing from “The Poseidon Adventure,” “Jaws,” and “Airport ’77,” to create a bonkers greatest hits collection of highlights from the popular 70’s genre.
This may sound like a backhanded compliment but is far from it. The film follows a certain logic that permits the elements from these pop culture milestones to seamlessly meld together, while upping the ante as it progresses. Not just content to give the audience numerous shark attacks and various water-based threats, they throw a kitchen sink of further catastrophes at their traumatized characters, resulting in a barrage of action sequences that, for the most part, prove thrilling and exciting.
The flight from Los Angeles to Shanghai is a crowded one, filled primarily by citizens from Central Casting. Rich (Ben Kingsley), a veteran pilot, estranged from his family, has been paired with First Officer Ben (Aaron Eckhart), who’s dealing with familial issues of his own. Their passengers are a diverse lot and include: a chip-on-his shoulder lout (Angus Sampson) who has “shark bait” written all over him, a little girl (Molly Belle Wright) who’s mad at her new stepmother and father (Madeleine West and Ryan Bown) and irritated by her new stepbrother (Elijah Tamati) as well as a group of plucky flight attendants (Lucy Barrett, Chrissy Jin, Priya Jain) a Chinese gymnastics team and a United States wrestling team, both of which are made up with impulsive teens. A sassy grandmother, two middle-agers who may take a chance on love again, and a tech nerd who displays extraordinary heroism are also on board.
It would be wise not to get attached to any of them as, to the screenwriters’ credit, none of them are safe. Star power does not guarantee survival in this film and what with only two veteran actors leading the cast, everyone’s fair game for the sharks that come cruising after the flight goes down in the Pacific. This approach adds a degree of tension whenever someone’s forced to and pushed into the water, where there’s no shortage of finned predators ready for a free lunch.
For a film with a reported $40 million budget, the special effects are very good. The plane crash, which features compressed air tanks zipping around the cabin, a massive aluminum luggage container falling out the side, taking out an engine on the way, passengers being sucked through gaping holes and numerous other flying objects that cause a bevy of gruesome injuries, is spectacular. This is modern, big-screen filmmaking at its best as the interior of Harlan’s plane fills the screen, creating a large, yet contained space which traps the viewer with the ill-fated passengers. This, coupled with the theater’s surround sound creates an unsettling, immersive experience that puts us in the middle of the disaster.
However, the peril is far from over when the plane hits the water. Pieces of the shattered fuselage come to rest on a crumbling coral reef, making it difficult for any survivors to scramble out, while ever rising water levels threaten any who are trapped. The shark attacks are well done, the combination of practical effects with CGI-rendered creatures and sharp editing creating one effectively horrific moment after another. To be sure, there was one shark that looked suspiciously like something I blew up on the beach for my boys to float on a few summers ago, but I’ll let that slide.
Perhaps the most surprising thing about “Deep” is how emotionally engaging it is at times. All involved are fully aware of the type of movie they’re in, yet no one is phoning it in where their performances are concerned. While this certainly isn’t an aspect being pushed in the movie’s trailer, it helps to ground this insanity, the material resonating in an unexpected and poignant manner. In the end, this glorified B-movie delivers much more than expected something many modern movies with bigger budgets and higher profile stars can’t claim.
3 1/2 Stars.
