Overview: From Renny Harlin, maximalist director of Die Hard II, Cliffhanger and The Long Kiss Goodnight, comes Deep Blue Sea, a shark-infested action-thriller where everyone is on the menu.

At an isolated research facility in the middle of the ocean, a team of scientists, led by Susan McAlester (Saffron Burrows), are working on a cure for Alzheimer’s by genetically altering the brains of sharks. When a shark escapes and attacks a pleasure boat, the company sponsoring the research threatens to pull its funding and sends corporate executive Russell Franklin (Samuel L. Jackson) to investigate. McAlester has just 48 hours to prove the value of her work, but her experiments have made the sharks smarter.

No longer happy to be injected, prodded, and caged, they begin to turn the tables. As a freak storm causes chaos on the surface, making it impossible to leave, the facility is flooded and the scientists must fight to survive against the rising water and the hungry sharks that now swim freely through the corridors.

Embracing action, horror and suspense with a knowing sense of humor and pushing them all as far as they can go, Deep Blue Sea is an adrenaline rush of pure entertainment presented in a brand new 4K restoration approved by director Renny Harlin. Come on in, the water’s great!

4K Blu-ray Verdict: This 1999 blockbuster is a refreshingly enjoyable and old-fashioned kind of thriller, full of action, suspense, and plenty of humor. In a year which had given us many oddities at the cinema, this came across as a breath of fresh air, as it didn’t try anything inventive or new, it’s just a plain simplistic adventure story. In many ways DEEP BLUE SEA harks back to the likes of THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE, albeit with a monster-movie twist!

Of course, with Renny Harlin as the director, it was pretty much a foregone conclusion that this film would offer up some exciting sequences. And, by gum, it does, as people are chased up corridors by sharks, having to swim for their lives and using everyday facilities as their only means of salvation; there are no rocket launchers or shotgun-toting heroes this time around, although Thomas Jane comes close.

Unfortunately, when the film is not dealing with one of these terrific action scenes, it all comes a bit unstuck. The music is uninspired and some of the cast disappoint. I know Harlin said he wanted to cast unknown actors and actresses in the film, I can understand that, but come on, he could have chosen someone who can actually act.

Thomas Jane is acceptable, but was better in the likes of THE PUNISHER. As for Saffron Burrows, talk about miscasting. She has a ridiculous accent and is a poor actress when it comes to the action scenes, having the same expression on her face for the entire film!

The rest of the cast are all also, for the most part interchangeable, we don’t really care if these guys live or die. The only interest comes from the two black cast members. Firstly there’s the ever reliable Samuel L. Jackson as a cool company benefactor back when he could do no wrong, and then there’s LL Cool J, who, surprisingly, is actually funny and likeable in this film. No mean feat for a rap artist, and I was expecting the worst. It turns out that LL Cool J is the one we’re rooting for and the only real person we actually care about when he’s in danger. Now there’s a refreshing turn up for the books!

There are some bloody moments in this film for shock purposes, the best being early on. For the next twenty minutes events just get worse, people die, buildings explode and the entire base gets flooded, these multiplying calamities are just sheer brilliance and really exciting and entertaining. It really made my heart beat which I love to happen. There’s no way the rest of the film could live up to this moment, and it can’t, but at least it concentrates on the sharks as the real stars and not the actors thereafter.

The special effects for the sharks are generally very good, and a seamless blend of animatronics and CGI animation is used. Only occasionally (at the end particularly) do the sharks look fake, but other than that they’re very well done indeed. There are also plenty of shots of people getting ripped in half underwater and legs flailing about, quite fake too but fun anyway. However the old standby of someone sinking and then blood welling up in the water is the most effective and clichéd of the lot, and yet it still works.

While comparisons to JAWS are obvious (the two films are very different DEEP BLUE SEA is action orientated, JAWS is more of a suspense story), just forget about that classic and sit back and enjoy some inspired moments and good chase bits, and play Guess the next victim with your friends. It’s a riot.

DEEP BLUE SEA may not have broken any new ground, but there are some excellent disaster moments (the large window cracking being one of them, it might have been nicked from THE LOST WORLD: JURASSIC PARK, but it’s a whole lot better) and there are plenty of things to divert your senses from the somewhat shallow nature of the film - no pun intended!

Bonus Materials:
Brand new 4K restoration of the film from the original camera negatives by Arrow Films approved by director Renny Harlin
4K (2160p) Ultra HD Blu-ray presentation
Original DTS HD-MA 5.1 and Dolby Atmos audio options
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
Brand new audio commentary by screenwriter Duncan Kennedy
Brand new audio commentary by filmmaker and critic Rebekah McKendry
Archive audio commentary by director Renny Harlin and star Samuel L. Jackson
From the Frying Pan… into the Studio Tank, a new interview with production designer William Sandell
Beneath the Surface, a new visual essay by film critic Trace Thurman
When Sharks Attack: The Making of Deep Blue Sea, an archive featurette
The Sharks of the Deep Blue Sea, an archive featurette
Deleted scenes with optional audio commentary by director Renny Harlin
Theatrical trailer
Image gallery
Reversible sleeve with original and newly commissioned artwork by Luke Preece
60-page perfect bound collector’s book containing new writing by film
critics Josh Hurtado, Jennie Kermode, and Murray Leeder, plus previously unseen production art and designs
Double-sided fold-out poster featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Luke Preece
Postcards from Aquatic

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