Deep Blue Sea

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Deep Blue Sea

R

1999

1h 45m

Sci-Fi

Action

Adventure

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

60%

Tomatometer

116 Reviews

40%

Popcornmeter

250,000+ Ratings

On an island research facility, Dr. Susan McAlester is harvesting the brain tissue of DNA-altered sharks as a possible cure for Alzheimer's disease. When the facility's backers send an executive to investigate the experiments, a routine procedure goes awry and a shark starts attacking the researchers. Now, with sharks outnumbering their human captors, McAlester and her team must figure out a way to stop them from escaping to the ocean and breeding.

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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.

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Paul Clinton (CNN.com)

CNN.com

01/11/2019

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.

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David Denby

The New Yorker

01/11/2019

Scary, absurd, inessential.

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Lisa Alspector

Chicago Reader

01/11/2019

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.

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Jeff Beck

The Blu Spot

03/17/2025

2.5/5

It's a spin that had a fair amount of potential, but ultimately leaves you a little disappointed that they didn't fully tap into how suspenseful, wild, and over-the-top it could've been.

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Casey Chong

Casey's Movie Mania

07/28/2024

4/5

Renny Harlin effectively combines Die Hard-style action with sharks.

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Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

08/04/2023

B-

Now considered a favorite cult film.

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moviefan2023

07/29/2023

great action movie, classic for shark lovers.

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Matthew D

@OceanSage 2d

The sharks are ferocious and the humans are well rounded in this exciting sea thriller. Thomas Jane is super cool, calm, and collected as the shark swimming hero Carter Blake. Samuel L. Jackson is fantastic as the shrewd and commanding CEO Russell Franklin. His every line has weight. Saffron Burrows is excellent as the detestable and misguided Dr. Susan McAlester. Her swimsuit scene is so sexy as she’s soaked and has to electrocute a shark. Burrows should have been in more movies besides just like Deep Blue Sea and Troy. She’s remarkably natural. She has real chemistry with Thomas Jane too. LL Cool J is very funny and likable as the parrot toting cook Sherman Dudley, who they call Preacher. You just want him to live. Jacqueline McKenzie is wonderful as the clever researcher Jan Higgins. Stellan Skarsgård appears as smart Dr. Jim Whitlock until his big shark scene that sets everything off. Overall, Deep Blue Sea is a wonderful shark attack survival thriller for anyone.

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Aioros M

@melchizedek777 6d

A must see, one of the best shark movies out there.

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Schlub Z

@SchlubZero Jul 13

A “b-movie” with a CAPITAL B, Deep Blue Sea embraces its creature-feature absurdity with pitch-perfect execution. The CGI has aged about as well as a half eaten whale corpse but the animatronic shots are still top notch. The cast is as fun and efficient as the plot, which elevates this Jurassic Park/Jaws hybrid above its station.

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Brayan G

@letsbereal4once Jul 9

This movie was ahead of its time not too cheesy with a good story I would recommend this thriller.

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Mila T

@RT27391768 Jun 24

I think it is a very successful movie, even though the technique looks a bit outdated. The most sacfastic thing I found is the black brother, the chef, who individually killed two out of three sharks, even with wounds. The rest of the characters, the well-trained shark keeper, the engineer, the scientist, and the CEO, looked so vulnerable when they were facing the shark. God's prayer is also God's warrior. Very funny.

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Renny Harlin

Director

Thomas Jane

Carter Blake

Saffron Burrows

Dr. Susan McCallister

Samuel L. Jackson

Russell Franklin

Jacqueline McKenzie

Janice Higgins

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Synopsis

On an island research facility, Dr. Susan McAlester is harvesting the brain tissue of DNA-altered sharks as a possible cure for Alzheimer's disease. When the facility's backers send an executive to investigate the experiments, a routine procedure goes awry and a shark starts attacking the researchers. Now, with sharks outnumbering their human captors, McAlester and her team must figure out a way to stop them from escaping to the ocean and breeding.

Director: Renny Harlin
Producer: Akiva Goldsman, Tony Ludwig, Alan Riche
Screenwriter: Donna Powers, Wayne Powers, Duncan Kennedy
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures
Production Co: Village Roadshow Prod.
Rating: R (Language|Graphic Shark Attacks)
Genre: Sci-Fi, Action, Adventure
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jul 28, 1999, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 20, 2008
Box Office (Gross USA): $73.6M
Runtime: 1h 45m
Sound Mix: Dolby SR, DTS, Dolby Stereo, Surround, SDDS, Dolby A, Dolby Digital
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)