Aaron Ploof
Since Steven Spielberg’s Jaws, multiple filmmakers have tackled the shark-attack genre. Deep Blue Sea, 47 Meters Down, and The Meg are just a few. Even more outrageous kinds of entries, such as Sharknado, have been made. Now director Renny Harlin, whose previous credits include Deep Blue Sea, is once again tackling the genre in Deep Water. While Deep Water features some excellent camerawork, solid acting, and high production values, it suffers from a weak screenplay. It is also overloaded with too many characters and plotlines, making it difficult to sustain tension.
Our hero in this film is Ben (Aaron Eckhart). He’s the first officer of the plane that our characters will be embarking on. He’s also ignoring pleas from his wife to come home, even though his son is deeply sick. Before he gets on the plane, he reassures a feisty little girl named Cora (Molly Belle Wright), who is there with her father (Ryan Bown), stepmother, and stepbrother (Elijah Tamati), that there will be no danger. Unfortunately, he’s deeply mistaken. Dan (Angus Sampson), a character who is just written to be hated, brings a lithium power bank onboard, plugged into his tablet inside his bag. When it ignites, it sends the plane careening downward.
Cora and her family aren’t the only people trapped on this doomed flight. There’s Matt (Richard Crouchley), a nerdy young man who has the hots for one of the flight attendants, Zoe (Na Shi). There are two e-sports athletes, Lily (Rose Zhao) and Sam (Li Wenhan), who seem to have a thing for each other. Also on the flight is Becky (Kate Fitzpatrick), an older woman who teases Matt about his chances with Zoe. In addition, Hutch (Lakota Johnson), a belligerent member of the wrestling team (Lakota Johnson), is on board. Finally, Rich (Ben Kingsley) is piloting the plane.
The plane’s destruction and the ensuing aftermath are all excellently filmed. These scenes are brutal and fast-paced, with the camera quickly switching between different points of view. This conveys the intensity of the situation. The actors all capture their characters’ frenzied nature as they scramble around the plane attempting to find safety. Suspense is kept at a high level, ensuring a very enjoyable film sequence.
In fact, the intensity in this sequence is one of the film’s high points. Sadly, it’s unable to sustain much tension elsewhere. Once the plane hits the water and the crew and passengers attempt to survive, the narrative is constantly switching between all the different characters. This creates a sort of rise and fall in tension, instead of a slowly ramping up. Consequently, the film is robbed of its momentum. All the characters in the movie are dealing with their own issues. There are a lot of characters, so details within each scenario are lacking. Some characters get more development than others, and we grow to care for those. Others are left on the back end of the proverbial plane (here’s looking at you, Cora’s mom and dad).
Thematically, the movie aims to encourage appreciation of your loved ones, as in life one can never be certain one will see them again. This is as far as the film goes in thematic territory, however, and doesn’t seem to want to say anything of deep relevance. Thank goodness then, that the special effects and the camera shots are creative throughout the film, never losing their inventiveness. There are pullbacks, twisting shots, and angled shots that will keep the audience’s attention.
Acting from Aaron Eckhart, Ben Kingsley, and even Molly Belle Wright is very impressive. Angus Simpson plays the typical a-hole, but his comeuppance is something that people will root for. Eckhart’s character, Ben, goes full dad mode and decides to take it upon himself to protect Wright’s character, Cora. The relationship between the two sells well. Wright plays emotions well too, capturing the regret her character feels for not watching over her brother. Other actors are solid as well, with Fitzpatrick as Becky being a standout.
For a B-Movie not set on doing anything new, Deep Water still packs some punch. It is, however, let down by its thin script and some underdeveloped characters. The film is consistently brilliant with its shots but could use more creativity when it comes to its plot. Still, there are worse shark movies to take a chomp out of.
