Shark Week: Deep Blue Sea (1999)

Deep Blue Sea (1999) dir. Renny Harlan, Village Roadshow Pictures

And thus Shark Week ends, but does it end with a bite or a whimper?

We open with a scene pretty dang typical of these type of films. A boat filled with young folks is drifting out in the open sea when something large attacks. Just before anyone can be munched, however, another boat pops up and knocks the shark out with tranquilizers. 

This is where the film takes a sharp left in the sense department. Seems that wasn't your ordinary shark; no, this was a specially modified model designed to hyper large, hyper fast, and hyper intelligent. The genius behind this idea is Dr. Susan McAllister (Saffon Burrows). Her thinking is sharks rarely get sick, so making them bigger and stronger could somehow help humans. 

Yeah, not buying this either. Neither is Russell Franklin (Samuel L. Jackson), the CEO fronting the cash for this little horror show. After hearing about the attack, Franklin personally goes out to the lab, located deep in the ocean, to oversee how his money is being spent. 

There we meet the crew

Blake (Thomas Jane)-wrangler

Preacher (LL Cool J)-cook and his bird, Bird

Higgins (Jacqueline McKenzie)-biologist 

Scoggins (Michael Rapaport)-engineer 

Dr. Whitlock (Stellan Skarsgard)-the other scientist 

Naturally everyone agrees that things are normal and there is no reason to panic, right as one of the sharks shrugs off the drugs and bites Dr. Whitlock's arm off. Of course this happened during a tropical storm, so the evac copter has to pick him via hook and wench. Turns out this is exactly what the sharks want, as they snatch Whitlock's stretcher and use it drag the helicopter into the base's tower and then the helpless scientist to break the glass into the base. 

So, with the base flooded with water AND sharks, how are our heroes gong to get out?

Got to say, if you're going to end something might as well go out on the dumbest note you can. Seriously, why couldn't they have done this research inland in an aquarium? Or maybe not make giant super sharks? I'm shocked they didn't give them machetes and opposable thumbs while they were at it. Or have them hack the mainframe. 

Also either the biggest waste of Samuel L. Jackson ever or the greatest use. Doesn't seem to a middle ground on this one.