Deep Blue Sea

Critics Consensus

Deep Blue Sea is no Jaws, but action fans seeking some toothy action can certainly do -- and almost certainly have done -- far worse for B-movie thrills.

59%

TOMATOMETER

Total Count: 113

38%

Audience Score

User Ratings: 379,293

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Movie Info

Dr. Susan McAlester's experiments are on the verge of creating medical history. But to reach her goal, she has violated ethical codes, genetically re-engineering the DNA of mako sharks. One of nature's most lethal killing machines has become more useful to her research, but also more intelligent and powerful in the process. But McAlester has more to worry about than the deadly specimens at the center of her studies. Her questionable methods put a strain on the relationships with her fellow team members, chiefly shark expert Carter Blake. Compounding the tense atmosphere, Aquatica's financiers are skeptical and nervous and have threatened to shut down the off-shore facility on the eve of a round of Dr. McAlester's key tests. Russell Franklin, the leading backer, has been dispatched to Aquatica to deliver an ultimatum - the research must prove conclusive, or funding is revoked. Susan and her team successfully extract brain tissue from the largest of the mako sharks. But a tragic accident during the procedure sets off a chain of events that results in irreparable damage to the research facility. With a tropical storm swirling around the now sinking Aquatica, the scientists and workers find themselves stalked by the new generation sharksfighting against the deadly man-made forces of nature they helped to create.

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Cast

Samuel L. Jackson
as Russell Franklin
Saffron Burrows
as Dr. Susan McAlester
Thomas Jane
as Carter Blake
Stellan Skarsgard
as Jim Whitlock
LL Cool J
as Sherman `Preacher' Dudley
Michael Rapaport
as Scoggins
Jacqueline McKenzie
as Janice Higgins
Aida Turturro
as Brenda Kerns
Cristos
as Boat Captain
Daniel Rey Silvas
as Helicopter Pilot
Mary Kay Bergman
Valente Rodriguez
as Helicopter Co-Pilot
Frank W. Welker
Dan Thiel
as Kevin Crawford
Brent Roam
as Helicopter Winch Operator
Eyal Podell
as Boy
Erinn Bartlett
as Girl No.1
Sabrina Geerinckx
as Girl No.2
Ronny Cox
as Executive (uncredited)
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Critic Reviews for Deep Blue Sea

All Critics (113) | Top Critics (32)

  • If you like big summer action flicks with plenty of bite, check this one out. Then go out for a big sushi dinner. It'll make you feel better.

    Jan 11, 2019 | Full Review…

    Paul Clinton (CNN.com)

    CNN.com
    Top Critic

  • Scary, absurd, inessential.

    Jan 11, 2019 | Full Review…

    David Denby

    New Yorker
    Top Critic

  • The characters are sufficiently naive to get picked off one by one, but their ignorance doesn't extend to the genre conventions governing their behavior, making for some shockingly funny moments.

    Jan 11, 2019 | Full Review…

    Lisa Alspector

    Chicago Reader
    Top Critic

  • Deep Blue Sea, a sort of cross between Aliens (without the thrills) and The Poseidon Adventure (without the camp compensations), doesn't deliver the killer-shark-versus-A-list-character-actor thrills you crave.

    Jan 11, 2019 | Full Review…

    Keith Phipps

    AV Club
    Top Critic

  • This highly unlikely story about genetically enhanced sharks that terrorize the scientists who created them is one summer movie that delivers exactly what it promises: nonstop popcorn thrills.

    Mar 5, 2018 | Full Review…

    David Ansen

    Newsweek
    Top Critic

  • If we're laughing at the movie: there's something very gratifying about the regularity with which Harlin cuts his cheesy characters down to size. And as a piece of cinematic engineering, it's nothing if not efficient.

    Jan 26, 2006 | Full Review…

    Tom Charity

    Time Out
    Top Critic
View All Critic Reviews (113)

Audience Reviews for Deep Blue Sea

  • Sep 06, 2018
    There's quite a cast assembled for Deep Blue Sea, not what we've come to expect from the Asuylum-soiled genre of shark movies in this day and age. It's not a fantastic movie, but it proves more watchable that 90% of its company.
    Gimly M Super Reviewer
  • Jun 12, 2017
    This is one of my favorite bad movies. It's full of action and ridiculous situations to delicious to ignore. Speaking of ridiculousness -- that Samuel L. Jackson death scene has got to be my favorite death on film of all time!
    Christian C Super Reviewer
  • Jul 15, 2014
    If you take a ludicrous plot involving super smart sharks, an impossible setting aping Sealab 2021, and improbable casting pitting LL Cool J, a failed Punisher, and the future Nick Fury against a CGI Dino-fish, you know you've just stepped in Deep Blue something. Just because this muddled undersea non-thriller winks at the audience as if to say "Hey, we're going for a B-Movie feel" doesn't make this Z-Grade pill go down any easier. "Beneath it's glassy surface...a world of gliding monsters." And THEN Michael Rappaport shows up. Chewing more scenery than Sterling Hayden on a bender, he and the rest of the cast go for broke, using histrionics to drown out the inevitable Rifftrax quipping that was sure to follow. Sure, it puts forth a phony baloney backstory about using shark brains to find an Alzheimer's cure, but the only ones who will want to perpetually forget this moment are moviegoers. In this R-rated thriller, a scientific crew (Jane, Burrows, Samuel L. Jackson, LL Cool J) on an isolated research facility become the bait as three intelligent sharks fight back. "What you've done is knocked us down the goddamn food chain." Yep, this line gets delivered by Jane...with some deathly serious rage-tinged vigor, it must be said. Die Hard 2 and Cliffhanger director Renny Harlin is capable of crafting over-the-top thrills and, truthfully, Deep Blue Sea boasts a few. Here, however, everything - from the lines spoken to the bodies eaten - gets over-the-top treatment. Only 2 of the cast make it out of this Grindhouse thriller wannabe (think: locked Jaws) alive, but no one truly gets away without some psychological damage...audiences mostly. Bottom line: Shark Weak
    Jeff B Super Reviewer
  • Jan 06, 2012
    First of all, why do they all have chin dimples??? Deep Blue Sea has some interesting ideas and intense moments that proves to be a better blockbuster. The script was bad and the CGI wasn't good enough but the acting and unpredictable deaths helped quite a lot. It's brainless but it is enjoyable.
    Sylvester K Super Reviewer
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