I don’t think Sam ever got into position when Renny wanted him to. So, I got involved after take two or three, and said, ‘Renny, Sam and I thought it’d be much cooler if he’s attacked before he says the speech, because the audience is thinking, ‘Oh, well, he’s the star, he’s got this big thing, and it’s just sort of like a National Lampoon joke and then the shark just wipes him out.’Īnd Renny goes, ‘What’s National Lampoon?’ I said, ‘It’s like the Raiders of the Lost Ark when Indy goes to fight the big sword wielding guy, and he just pulls the gun and shoots him, instead of engaging.’ And Renny goes, ‘That won’t work.’ So, on and on it went, very contentious, in a kind way, between Sam and Renny. So, take two, Sam goes, ‘You think water’s fast…’ And he jogs forward and he goes, ‘You haven’t seen ice.’ And he’s in the position and Renny says, ‘Cut, cut, cut.’Īnd they did this for, like, 20 takes, with Sam explaining to Renny that he thinks there’s no way to say this dialogue. Then you’ll get there, and then it’ll be a big surprise.’ Sam goes, ‘Yeah, fine, all right’. So you start back there, then you walk and talk very slowly. Sam goes, ‘Yeah, okay fine.’ But he goes, ‘Renny, have you read this dialogue? I don’t want to say it.’Īnd Renny goes, ‘Yeah, but Sam you have to say it, because it’s the big scene. For what Deep Blue Sea is trying to be, it absolutely succeeds.ĭeep Blue Sea is streaming on Hulu until October 31.So, take one, Sam says, ‘Think water’s fast? Have you seen ice?’ And he starts pondering and walking, and then he looks up and he’s in the position, and he says, ‘There were seven of us on that mountain, and only five of us returned’, or whatever it was.Īnd Renny goes, ‘Cut, cut, cut.’ He goes, ‘Sam, you’ve got seven pages, you’ve got a long ways to go, you know? Don’t land there before the seventh page…’. It became a classic of the “movie that’s on” genre, one of those random films that you'd catch on cable and wind up watching the second half because it works. At times the movie feels a little too thin - Preacher records a video obituary that hints at a fascinating life, but a few more details of that would have been welcome.īut hints work in a Deep Blue Sea, which is trying to just be a good scary movie about DNA-altered sharks killing people and destroying buildings. Harlin keeps the story moving, never getting bogged down in subplot or extraneous details. “I hate to interrupt this moment of emerging intimacy, but can we get the fuck out of here?” LL Cool J asks at one point, as Jane and Burrows share a moment. The pain on her face after having to destroy her own research is palpable, and she ends up sacrificing herself. Saffron Burrows’ doctor is unlikeable, but her character’s motivations are noble - she’s actually driven by finding a cure for Alzheimer’s and gets to electrocute a shark. Jackson is the corporate guy, but he’s seen more as a beacon of stability before he is killed. There’s no clear villain in the film beyond the sharks. The film uses physics and plenty of light to make sure we understand what’s going on. Underwater sequences, which are dark and have humans move slowly by default, are tricky to get right. Harlin, who also directed Die Hard 2 and Cliffhanger, knows how to film action. The movie isn’t afraid to stand in the shadow of Jaws, and its action sequences are clear-cut and understandable. It’s mainly anchored by LL Cool J, who plays a Bible-quoting cook named Preacher with charm to spare as he looks after his bird.īut the ensemble winnows thanks to the superintelligent sharks, who are legitimately scary. The ensemble, which does feature a young pre- Punisher Thomas Jane, never achieves the same incredible chemistry. LL Cool J is the film's anchor, by far its most charming member.ĭeep Blue Sea is not Alien. Deep Blue Sea lives up to that, especially when a certain famous actor dies right after his speech demanding that everyone stick together. Harlin also references Alien, saying the ensemble cast guaranteed nobody in the audience could predict who would die and who would live. You’re not winking at the audience, you’re trying to scare them to death,” he said in an interview at the time. “I wanted to take the genre back to the big-scale movie making level of films like The Exorcist, The Shining, and Jaws, for which you have great actors, great production values, and you do it seriously. According to director Renny Harlin, that was intentional. The movie (released July 28, 1999) has a distinctly older feel than either of those films. The biggest hits of 1999 - Star Wars: Episode I and The Matrix - were built to feel futuristic to redefine preconceived notions about Anakin Skywalker and human identity, respectively. The cast of Deep Blue Sea with direct Renny Harlin, center.
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