Into the Blue (2005 film)

Into the Blue
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	John Stockwell
Written by	Matt Johnson
Produced by	David Zelon
Starring	Paul Walker Jessica Alba Scott Caan Ashley Scott Josh Brolin James Frain Tyson Beckford ((Kayley Raulerson))
Cinematography	Shane Hurlbut Peter Zuccarini
Edited by	Nicolas De Toth Dennis Virkler
Music by	Paul Haslinger
Production company	Mandalay Pictures
Distributed by	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Columbia Pictures
Release date	September 30, 2005 (2005-09-30)
Running time	110 min.
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$50 million
Box office	$44,434,439

Into the Blue is a 2005 American action film starring Paul Walker, Jessica Alba, Josh Brolin and Scott Caan. The film was directed by Top Gun actor John Stockwell, and distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Columbia Pictures.

Plot

Jared (Paul Walker) and Sam (Jessica Alba) are two lovers, living a rustic life in the Bahamas.

When Jared loses his job and his old college friend Bryce (Scott Caan) comes for a visit, the opportunity to realize his dream arrives. Bryce, a lawyer from New York City, and his girlfriend of the week Amanda (Ashley Scott), acquired the use of a luxury vacation house and boat. Both couples take a boat trip and do some snorkeling. As they investigate the area, they come across the remains of a crashed plane containing a large quantity of cocaine, and an unidentified shipwreck containing treasure. They decide not to report the crashed plane and its cargo until they have secured their claim on the sunken ship.

Jared and Bryce go to a local boat broker. However, Jared soon finds out that Bryce, on a trip to Las Vegas, borrowed money from a loan shark. Without Jared's knowledge, Bryce and Amanda plan to retrieve some of the cocaine and sell it to local dealer/night club owner, Primo (Tyson Beckford). Primo turns out to be an associate of drug lord Reyes (James Frain) to whom the cocaine belongs. Reyes threatens Jared, Amanda and Bryce at gunpoint.

Jared is forced to retrieve the cocaine with equipment provided by Reyes. The trio breaks the bad news to Sam. He tries to convince her that it is a one-time thing, but Sam leaves him, saying that "they" are over. Jared, Bryce, and Amanda head to sea that night after securing the gear. Before retrieving the cocaine, they decide to take advantage of the situation to uncover the site of the Zephyr. With the blower equipment, Jared is finally able to confirm the ship's identity.

Amanda is attacked by a tiger shark. She dies later in the hospital. Hearing of the tragedy, Sam goes to the hospital and she and Jared are reunited. While driving back from the hospital, the threesome are confronted by Primo. A short, but intense car chase ends up with Jared leaving their truck. He surrenders to Primo and tries to get them to back off. Primo still takes him to Reyes' boat. The boat looks deserted, so Primo tells Jared to lie down on the floor of the state room. After some time, Jared goes to explore. He finds Primo, Reyes and several others shot dead in one the bedrooms. Out from the toilet emerges Bates (Josh Brolin), a local salvager and former employer of Jared's. Jared bolts from the boat and heads for shore.

Meanwhile, Sam insists on informing the police, and Bryce drops her off at her friend's home, a local cop named Roy (Dwayne Adway). He takes off to meet Jared without waiting for Sam. Roy comforts Sam and tells her he knows a guy who can help. Roy betrays Sam and takes her to Bates, who captures her.

Jared and Bryce meet up and Jared calls the captive Sam, who is handcuffed and gagged with duct tape. Bates answers her cell phone and tells Jared he will let her go immediately if Jared discloses the location of the cocaine to him. Jared refuses and insists that they meet to settle the situation once and for all.

Jared is taken aboard Bates' boat and shown the scene. The Sea Robin heads for the location where Jared directs them, but as they approach the area, they see a white substance floating on the surface. Jared tells Bates that it's half of the cocaine, ruined, and that he is about to destroy the rest. Jared jumps into the water with his hands still tied behind his back. Bates and his men change into scuba gear to go after him. Below the surface, in the plane, the divers look for Jared, who is assumed to be able to breathe to stay alive as there is trapped air in the plane. Bryce has switched places with one of the dead pilots and mounts a surprise attack. An underwater struggle follows, killing all of Bates' men and wounding Bryce.

Sam frees herself with a forgotten machete, which brings one of Bates' men down into the engine room, where she locks him in. She then goes up to the bridge to call for help. The man escapes from the engine room; a chase around the boat ends in a struggle and they fall into the water. The man, wounded by Sam with a boat hook, is attacked by a tiger shark. Below, Jared and Bates are the only ones left. Jared uses an air tank as a missile by hammering off the valve. It misses Bates, but hits the fuel tank at the back of the plane, causing the entire plane to explode, killing Bates and destroying the rest of the cocaine. Sam jumps into the water, fearing for Jared's life.

This segues into a scene six weeks later, where the trio are shown to have survived and are salvaging the Zephyr. An attempt to bring a cannon up fails when the rope snaps and it sinks to the bottom. It’s a blessing in disguise as the cannon's hard landing exposes hidden gold bars. Sam and Jared are about to call it a night, but Bryce sees something in the water, and dives in on a hunch. As the scene of the boat pulls back, we hear Bryce shout that he has found the gold of Zephyr, bestowing untold wealth on the three friends.

Cast

• Paul Walker as Jared
• Jessica Alba as Sam
• Scott Caan as Bryce
• Ashley Scott as Amanda
• Josh Brolin as Derek Bates
• James Frain as Reyes
• Tyson Beckford as Primo

Filming

The special features section of the DVD chronicles how much of the film was filmed as live action shots in the sea off the Bahamas, with live, wild sharks. It shows film crews wearing chain mail as protection whilst the cast perform in the water unprotected. The filming was made possible by the development of shark tourism in the Bahamas. The sharks are used to being hand fed and will not generally attack humans but as a result will grab any item that "hits" the water as potential food. In an early scene Paul Walker has to grab two fins and a dive mask flung to him by Alba. During filming he missed the mask. It was never seen again after hitting the water and the DVD suggests that it was taken by a shark.

Reception

The film received mostly negative reviews from critics. Rotten Tomatoes lists it with a "rotten" rating of 21% based on 119 reviews, while Metacritic lists a rating of 45 out of 100 based on 28 reviews, which indicates "mixed or average reviews". The site's consensus is: "Even the endless shots of bronzed beach babes and buffed dudes can't keep this soggy scuba flick's plot from drowning".

Jessica Alba earned a Golden Raspberry Award nomination for Worst Actress for her performance in the film (as well as for Fantastic Four), but lost the trophy to Jenny McCarthy for Dirty Love. She also earned a place in the top 10 most iconic bikini scenes in film.

Box office performance

Into the Blue was a box office disappointment. Produced on a budget of $50 million, the film made just $18 million domestically and $26 million globally for a total of $44 million worldwide.

Home media

Despite negative reviews and it being a box-office bomb, Into the Blue was a home media success. The film was released on VHS and DVD-Video on December 26, 2005 and was the final MGM film released on VHS. It was released on Blu-Ray on August 15, 2006.

Soundtrack

• "Good Old Days" – Ziggy Marley
• "I Will" – Holly Palmer
• "I'll Be" – O S Xperience
• "Time of Our Lives (Swiss-American Federation Remix)" – Paul van Dyk feat. Vega 4
• "Think It Matters" – Paul Haslinger & Dan di Prima
• "Clav Dub" – Rhombus
• "No Trouble" – Shawn Barry
• "Whoa Now" – Louque
• "VIP" – D Bo
• "J.O.D.D." – Trick Daddy feat. Khia & Tampa Tony
• "Papi" – The Jackson 2
• "It's Alright" – Guerilla Black
• "Of Course Nigga You Can" – Billy Steel
• "Perique" – Louque
• "Wonderful World, Beautiful People" – Jimmy Cliff
• "Remember" – Abdel Wright

Sequel

A sequel, Into the Blue 2: The Reef, has been released on direct to DVD status. The cast consists of Chris Carmack, Laura Vandervoort, Audrina Patridge and Mircea Monroe.

External links

• Official website
• Into the Blue at IMDb
• Into the Blue at Box Office Mojo
• Into the Blue at AllMovie
• Roger Ebert's movie review