Deep Water

I love shark films, even though few of them are any good. I'm constantly on the lookout for the next one, and it makes me feel a bit happy inside when I read about a new one - a bit like how I wish dino-action films were more common. And yes, I know that David Robert Mitchell's The End of Oak Street, starring Anne Hathaway and Ewan McGregor, is coming out in August. And it looks really good. But sorry, we were supposed to be talking about sharks. There have been a few shark films since streaming took over. I reviewed Thrash as recently as April, and it actually held up to a certain extent.

But now to the point. Renny Harlin. Finland's greatest directorial export of all time, with Cliffhanger, Long Kiss Goodnight and a whole load of other films to his name, including Deep Blue Sea. I was thirteen when I saw it for the first time. And I was hooked. It was stylish (for its time), violent and wildly entertaining. I felt queasy when Stellan became a one-armed bandit; I was shocked when Samuel L. Jackson's heroic speech was cut short. This shark film had it all. Even sharks swimming backwards. And that classic LL Cool J one-liner: "You ate my bird". And you know what? It's absolutely daft. Over the top in every way. But it still works. Even today. Deep Blue Sea is my favourite shark horror film right after Jaws, so when I read that Renny Harlin had been swimming with sharks again, I was naturally over the moon. But, there remains the question of if his latest dive is as successful as his last.

Aaron Echkhart wonders why his pay cheque wasn't any bigger

Let's start with the plot:
"A group of international passengers travelling from Los Angeles to Shanghai are forced to make an emergency landing in shark-infested waters. Now they must work together in the hope of surviving the raging school of sharks drawn to the wreckage."

So Renny decides to treat us to a plane crash and a shark feast. It sounds like a brilliant concept. The trailer promises entertainment, and so there were hopes for a sort of spiritual sequel to Deep Blue Sea. We're introduced to some familiar faces. In the lead role is the broad-jawed Aaron Eckhart. I loved him as Harvey Dent in The Dark Knight. He's actually quite a stiff actor, and that's the case here too, but he's got something about him. The laid-back, party-loving, clichéd captain of the ill-fated flight is played by the iconic Ben Kingsley, who, interestingly, has always oscillated between heavy drama, Oscar-worthy performances, funny roles and outright bombs. I've often wondered how he chooses his roles and have come to the conclusion that he must have a bit of fun with it in the same way I handle certain situations: 'This might not turn out so well, but it sounds fun. Let's go for it. Then there's Angus Sampson, who really caught my eye in the second series of Fargo (also memorable as a ghost hunter in Insidious).

But the fact is that the choice of actors doesn't really matter all that much, because this isn't a film that calls for Oscar-worthy performances. But now, of course, you're curious to hear how Deep Water measures up. It's been twenty-seven years, after all, since Harlin unleashed those clever sharks in Deep Blue Sea. I like the opening half-hour. It builds the atmosphere quite well, even if nothing really stands out. We're introduced to paper-thin characters and settings; we know things are going to go pear-shaped. I think the plane crash itself is quite well staged. Without knowing exactly how the crew actually communicate with each other or with air traffic control, it feels somewhat realistic, and you get a bit of a knot in your stomach when they realise that a crash landing in the sea is the only way out.

Deep Blue Sea it isn't

Just as I've always loved shark and monster films, I also have a soft spot for films set on aeroplanes - whether they're in the air for the entire running time or crash after half an hour. Passenger 57, the Idris Elba series Hijack, Die Hard 2, Alive. The list could go on and on.

However, for anyone hoping for great entertainment, I have some bad news: unfortunately, very little in Deep Water works. It isn't particularly well made, you don't really care about the characters, and it never becomes either genuinely thrilling or particularly entertaining. It fails to build any tension, and I miss any trace of the charm found in its witty predecessor. The sense of playfulness has been forgotten, and the threat posed by the sharks feels uninteresting and lacks bite (heh heh). Admittedly, there are a couple of scenes that work reasonably well and I'm certainly not bored, but I'd really hoped for more. Deep Water is extremely forgettable and might be all right for a hungover Sunday, but not much else. On the other hand, it did make me really keen to watch Deep Blue Sea.