After a nearly two-decade gap between films, Darin Scott's sequel did little to inspire good will amongst fans of the original movie, most notably because of a maddening script and poor performances. Produced for $60 million, Deep Blue Sea earned approximately $165 million in theaters and arguably became the best damn shark flick since Steven Spielberg's Jaws.Īny conversation about Deep Blue Sea 3's brilliance must acknowledge the inarguable fact that Deep Blue Sea 2 nearly destroyed the franchise's reputation upon its 2018 release. In addition, Saffron Burrows grounds the main cast as the well-meaning Dr. Jackson provides genuine star power as Russell Franklin. As Preacher Dudley, LL Cool J has some memorable scenes despite some questionable acting, and Samuel L. A couple scientists are eaten up rather quickly, which conveniently sets in motion the main shark action. The premise revolves around researchers who attempt to understand genetically engineered sharks, and subsequently witness how larger brain masses affect the subjects' day-to-day behavior. In 1999, Renny Harlin's Deep Blue Sea became a box office hit through its mixture of Sharksploitation suspense, strong action sequences, and a main cast that didn't take their roles too seriously. Deep Blue Sea 3 succeeds through Pogue's directorial guidance, along with a smart script by Dirk Blackman and performers who don't fall into the trappings of genre expectations. For a franchise to truly endure, there needs to be a filmmaker who takes risks and re-directs the ship, so to speak. Yes, there are still brainiac sharks and oh-so-clever supporting characters, but the overall filmmaking approach favors naturalism over genre tropes. 'Deep Blue Sea 3' could make uppity cinephiles snicker with its mere existence, but just one watch of John Pogue's 2020 franchise installment confirms that it saved the franchise as a whole. quality as a cook whose best friend is a parrot, and who hides from the shark in an oven, which the shark cleverly sets to 500 degrees.'Deep Blue Sea 3' could make cinephiles snicker with its mere existence, but just one watch confirms that it saved the franchise. The surprise in the cast is LL Cool J, who has a kind of Cuba Gooding Jr. Jane handles most of the action duties, convincingly if of course not plausibly (in other words, he looks like he can hold his breath underwater indefinitely, even though we know it's impossible). Jackson is more or less the straight man in the cast. There's a little perfunctory scientist-bashing, but not much (the Burrows character violates ethical guidelines, but, hey, it's for a good cause-fighting Alzheimer's). The sharks exist in "Deep Blue Sea'' as the Macguffins, creating situations that require the characters to think fast, fight bravely, improvise their way out of tight spots, dangle between flames and teeth, etc. The most obvious problem with this premise is that just because a shark is smarter doesn't mean it has more information the smartest shark in the world would only know how to be a smart shark unless it had a way to learn.īut never mind. Its premise is that the shark brains have been increased fivefold, with a corresponding increase in intelligence, so that the sharks can figure out the layout of the station and work together to batter down watertight doors, swim down corridors, etc. The shark attacks are intercut with a desperate escape plot, after storms and explosions incapacitate the station and the characters are trapped below the waterline in areas threatened by water pressure and sharks.Ĭommon sense of course has nothing to do with the screenplay, ingeniously devised by Duncan Kennedy, Donna Powers and Wayne Powers. Some of these characters turn up on the shark menu, although the timing and manner of their ingestion is often so unexpected that I'll say nothing more. Jackson) pays a visit to the station and meets the other key characters, including a shark wrangler ( Thomas Jane), a Bible-quoting cook (LL Cool J), and crew members including Jacqueline McKenzie, Michael Rapaport, Stellan Skarsgard and Aida Turturro. One of the sharks escapes and tries to eat a boat. A big corporation underwrites the research, and maintains a deep-sea station with shark corrals and underwater living and research areas. The premise: A scientist ( Saffron Burrows) has devised a way to use the brain tissue of sharks to cultivate a substance that might be useful in fighting Alzheimer's disease.
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