Deep Blue Sea (1999 film)

Deep Blue Sea
File:Deep Blue Sea poster.JPG Theatrical poster
Directed by	Renny Harlin
Written by	Screenplay Duncan Kennedy Donna Powers Wayne Powers Novel Michael Crighton
Produced by	Akiva Goldsman Robert Kosberg Tony Ludwig Alan Riche
Starring	Saffron Burrows Thomas Jane Samuel L. Jackson Jacqueline McKenzie LL Cool J Michael Rapaport Stellan Skarsgård Aida Turturro
Cinematography	Stephen Windon
Edited by	Derek Brechin Dallas Puett Frank J. Urioste
Music by	Trevor Rabin
Production company	Village Roadshow Pictures
Distributed by	Warner Bros.
Release date	July 28, 1999
Running time	105 min.
Country	United States Australia
Language	English
Budget	$60,000,000
Box office	$164,648,142

Deep Blue Sea is a 1999 science fiction thriller film that stars Saffron Burrows, Thomas Jane, LL Cool J, and Samuel L. Jackson. The film was directed by Renny Harlin and was released in the United States on July 28, 1999. It is based on the 1989 novel The Deep Blue Sea written by Michael Crighton.

Plot

The movie begins with four teenagers sailing on a small yacht in the ocean. One of the teenager's claims that the boat is being bumped by something and is ignored. Soon after, a rogue shark attacks, sending the teenagers flailing into the water. The attack is stopped when the shark is struck by two harpoons from a nearby fishing boat, piloted by Carter Blake (Thomas Jane).

On a remote top-secret floating facility called Aquatica, a team of scientists are searching for a cure for Alzheimer's disease. The team consists of Blake, the shark wrangler; Dr. Susan McAlester (Saffron Burrows), the scientist behind the experiment who decided to begin finding a cure after seeing her father suffer from Alzheimer's; Jim Whitlock (Stellan Skarsgård); Dr. Janice Higgins (Jacqueline McKenzie); Tom Scoggins (Michael Rapaport), chief engineer; Sherman "Preacher" Dudley (LL Cool J), a religious, wise-cracking cook; and Brenda Williams (Aida Turturro), the communications specialist.

Despite Blake's warnings, McAlester violates the code of ethics and creates three genetically engineered mako sharks. Her intent is to increase their brain capacity so the scientists can harvest brain tissue that will increase the chances of finding a viable cure for Alzheimer's. Unfortunately, the increased brain capacity has a side effect making the sharks smarter, faster and more aggressive—as well as growing to the size of great white sharks, gaining increased memory, and being able to swim backwards. Aquatica's financial backers are skeptical about the tests and following the attack on the teens, send corporate executive Russell Franklin (Samuel L. Jackson) to visit the facility.

In order to prove that the research is worth it, the team schedules a test to remove brain fluid bearing the protein complex from the largest shark. After removing the tissue, they rejoice as it brings test cells back temporarily. However, despite the successful test, the shark breaks free and bites off Whitlock's arm. Blake tries to shoot it, but McAlester saves it by pressing the release button, sending it back to the holding pen. An emergency request is made for paramedics, while the team gets Whitlock to the surface.

The medical helicopter arrives and they manage to get Whitlock attached to the winch cable, despite a severe storm. However, the cable motor fails and Whitlock is dropped into the water. The shark which McAlester earlier saved grabs the cable and drags the helicopter into the communications tower, resulting in a massive explosion that kills Brenda and both pilots, and destroys the "surface level" (the facility's level above water), stranding the surviving crew beneath. Back in the lab, Carter attempts to make contact with the tower but cannot get through because of power loss. The large window facing the holding pen shows an object growing closer; the largest shark uses Whitlock's transport stretcher as a ram, crashing it into the glass window which then breaks, releasing a massive flow of water into the facility. Whitlock is killed and McAlester and the others narrowly escape the flooding lab.

Meanwhile, in the kitchen, which is now partly submerged, one of the sharks enters and attacks Preacher, eating his pet parrot. Preacher climbs into the oven. Through constant ramming, the shark activates one of its controls, releasing gas into the oven. Preacher, determined to survive and avenge his pet bird's death, escapes the oven using an axe and swims to the exit before throwing a lighter, igniting the gas and killing the shark in a fiery explosion.

The scientists descend to the bottom level from which they planned to take a submarine to the surface, but find the room and sub destroyed. Scoggins and McAlester begin to argue when Franklin silences them before giving a speech about how the group will have to pull themselves together to find a way out. Unexpectedly and ironically, a shark leaps out from a pool behind Franklin and bites him while he's giving a survival speech; the two remaining sharks then drag Franklin under, tearing him in half and devouring him. The team makes way to the elevator shaft and starts to climb up. The shark comes through and rams open the door, to buy them time Carter opens Level 2's doors to drain off water. An explosion causes a part of the ladder to fall backwards. Higgins falls into the water and is killed by the shark. All hope seems to be lost for the rest of the gang until Preacher, having survived the explosion that killed the first shark, shows up alive. While taking refuge in Preacher's cubby, Preacher tells them that a stairwell in Level 1 has been flooded, blocking their way to the surface.

Realizing that Preacher is right, Blake and Scoggins go down into the water and activate bilge pumps to drain the stairwell so they can get to the surface. Scoggins reaches the controls and manages to turn the pumps on, but the third shark appears and tears him in half. While killing Scoggins, the shark also destroys the controls, leaving Blake to swim back to Preacher's cubby unable to get the pumps to drain the stairwell, much to his dismay. Meanwhile, despite Preacher's warnings, McAlester goes to her living quarters to get the files from the experiment. The second shark attacks her, but she manages to get on a shelf and breaks an electric wire. She then strips down to her underwear as she steps on her rubber suit to prevent electrocution; she throws the cable into the second shark's mouth, electrocuting and killing it but also destroying the research, much to McAlester's dismay.

Only Preacher, McAlester and Carter are left, discovering that the sharks have not just been trying to kill them, but were actually leading them to flooding the facility (sinking it and the titanium fences surrounding it) so they could escape into the open sea. Having finished off the first two sharks, the three survivors swim to the surface and Preacher is grabbed by the third shark on the leg. He stabs it in the eye with his crucifix necklace and gets free, swimming back to the tower with Carter's help. After tending Preacher's injured leg with a first-aid kit, Carter and McAlester then see the third shark ramming the gates which had previously been above the water. Carter realizes that the gates had been titanium under the water, but the parts that had been above the ocean are only common steel.

Carter decides that the mutant shark is too dangerous to be allowed to roam free and must be killed before it breaks through the fence. Carter combines explosive powder from flares with a harpoon, which is attached to a steel cable. He plans to fire the harpoon into the shark and then ignite the powder by having McAlester connect the other end of the cable to a battery. However, the shark is already too far away and too deep to hit and McAlester decides to use herself as bait. She cuts her hand to tempt the shark with her blood and jumps into the water. She attempts to escape up a ladder but the handle breaks off and she is ripped in half and eaten by the shark.

Carter jumps into the water in a failed attempt to rescue her and is attacked by the shark, but manages to hang onto its dorsal fin. All hope seems to be lost for Carter until Preacher picks up the harpoon (despite having difficulty moving with his injured leg) and fires at the shark, impaling its dorsal fin along with Carter's leg. The shark rams the gate again and manages to escape. But as Carter is pulled free while the shark rams the gate at the last minute, Preacher connects the battery, resulting in a massive explosion that blows the shark to bits. Carter manages to survive the explosion, but is now left with an injured leg. Carter and Preacher, having survived and finished their task of killing the sharks, enjoy a brief and uneasy respite as they wait to be picked up by an approaching boat. The movie ends with Carter and Preacher, saying the results of their success, and are "quitting" their jobs, with Preacher's final words being Take me back to the Ghetto., with Carter replying, "Amen".

Cast

• Thomas Jane - Carter Blake
• Saffron Burrows - Dr. Susan McAlester
• LL Cool J - Sherman "Preacher" Dudley
• Michael Rapaport - Tom "Scoggs" Scoggins
• Stellan Skarsgård - Dr. Jim Whitlock
• Samuel L. Jackson - Russell Franklin
• Jacqueline McKenzie - Dr. Janice "Jan" Higgins
• Aida Turturro - Brenda Williams

Soundtrack

Main article: Deep Blue Sea (soundtrack)

A soundtrack was released on June 27, 1999 by Warner Bros. Records featuring rap and R&B music. The soundtrack made it to #55 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums.

In popular culture

• Deep Blue Sea appeared on Mythbusters in the episode "Phone Book Friction" when they tested the many elements of the shark's death at the end of the film, with most being proven untrue.

• The license plate pulled from the shark's teeth by Carter is the same plate found in the tiger shark carcass from the 1975 Steven Spielberg film Jaws.

• Note: In the film's original cut, McAlester lived, but test audiences made it clear how much they disliked the character (going so far as to shout "Die, bitch!" at the screen) as her actions had caused all that had gone wrong. Thus, the decision was made to re-shoot the ending so that her character died. Conversely, Sherman 'Preacher' Dudley, played by LL Cool J, was to die but test audiences loved the character so much that filmmakers re-shot the ending and had him live.

• The Sealab 2021 episode Tinfins centers around the crew of Sealab making a movie which is an obvious spoof of Deep Blue Sea.

• The movie is referenced in the comic strip The boondocks when the Freeman family considers going to the cinema, with the movies playing then being Deep Blue Sea and Lake Placid. However, when Robert hears that LL Cool J stars in it, they go to see Lake Placid, stating that he'd prefer watching a movie without a rap star starring in it cause of his bad experiences with the movie Anaconda.

External links

• Official website
• Deep Blue Sea at IMDb
• Deep Blue Sea at Rotten Tomatoes
• Deep Blue Sea at Metacritic
• Deep Blue Sea at Box Office Mojo
• Official website Official spelling of Dr. McAlester