If you’re a fan of ludicrous shark deaths and characters you will not care about, Deep Water might be your idea of a good time. Still, overall, there is too much drag working against this flimsy story.
Deep Water is shark-by-numbers, complete with the cliched survivors and sad stories. While it’s fine for a genre film to remain steadfast in its wheelhouse, it must deliver on entertainment. The film occasionally rises to the “so bad it’s good” level of comically horrid missteps. It flips between predictable and unbelievable, with no emotional connection to the characters despite the movie’s valiant efforts. It’s not the worst shark film. But that lack of connection makes it challenging to get through the film. If you’re a fan of ludicrous shark deaths and characters you will not care about, Deep Water might be your idea of a good time. Still, overall, there is too much drag working against this flimsy story.
Renny Harlin (The Strangers: Chapter 1, The Misfits) directs the movie based on a screenplay by Pete Bridges, Shayne Armstrong (The Darkness, Monster Beach), and S.P. Krause (Monster Beach, Exchange Student Zero). The story centers on an international flight that has to make an emergency landing in the water. After that, it becomes a fight for survival against sharks.
It does try to make the film interesting and give audiences characters they can latch onto, starting with Aaron Eckhart’s (Classified, Thieves Highway) pilot Ben, a family man avoiding the family. Ben Kingsley’s (William Tell, Jules) Rich is the other pilot of this doomed flight. The rest of the cast is a hodgepodge of character types you expect in a disaster flick.
Deep Water Treads in the Shallows
Deep Water keeps it pretty lean and basic with its characters, with no one standing out from any other film from Daylight to The Day After Tomorrow. While having no connection to characters means some fun death sequences, including outlandish ones that defy believability, it would have been wonderful to see the film use the “deep” in its title to include at least a couple of characters. This is one where it was hard to even care about the kids. Like, why would a child, realizing the danger of sharks, walk toward deeper water? The issue is it tries to foster connections and fails in the attempt, making those scenes drag.
Surprising Deaths
There were a few people I expected to survive, and some did not make it. Not only that, the movie off-screens some deaths, and the ones audiences witness occasionally inspire a jaw drop. While the film lacks an emotional connection, the deaths make up for some of it. The sharks do not look real, but the chaotic interactions between characters and who does and does not survive keep you on your toes.
Who Gets to Tell Stories
Deep Water reminds me of a lesser Meg or the ludicrousness of a Sharknado. It does not attempt to be anything other than a ridiculous film that at times feels so bad it’s good. But it’s not enough. The director’s filmography is lackluster, with the only notable film of recent memory being The Strangers: Chapter 1, and he directed the two sequels. Those are only memorable because of how the last two underperformed in theaters.
It’s always frustrating when a director of a certain demographic with a mediocre filmography receives ample opportunities. Meanwhile, others with far more quality work but not part of the default demographic have few chances. Especially if they make a movie that bombs in theaters. Deep Water might be a shallow film. But the questions it raises with its disappointing plot have far more meaning and perhaps even more entertainment.
