'Deep Blue Sea 2' Is A Soggy Sequel

(Welcome to DTV Descent, a series that explores the weird and wild world of direct-to-video sequels to theatrically released movies. In this edition, we go swimming with sharks and take a look at the long-overdue follow-up to the highly entertaining shark attack thriller Deep Blue Sea.) 

Director Renny Harlin's career is itself heading towards the DTV world these days, but back in the '90s, he delivered a handful of truly solid big-screen action/adventures like Cliffhanger (1993), The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996), and the deliriously fun Deep Blue Sea (1999). The latter film pits a cast of familiar faces against a trio of genetically modified sharks in the middle of the ocean, and it is glorious. Big thrills, a knowing sense of humor, and at least two genuine character surprises elevate it from minor genre fare to a slice of entertainment that's shown real staying power over the nearly two decades since its release.

A sequel has been rumored over the years, but it's only now come into existence by way of a DTV film featuring none of the original's players and nearly all of its story beats. A lack of originality is no guarantee of awfulness, though, so we decided to jump in feet first to see if the blandly titled Deep Blue Sea 2 can sink or swim with Harlin's kick-ass original.

Employees at an underwater research facility spend their days and nights doing experiments on mako sharks, and while the work is ethically sketchy, it has noble intentions as they search for a cure for Alzheimer's. Most of them head back to shore for the weekend, leaving only a skeleton crew behind to welcome a corporate bigwig who arrives to check up on the facility after an incident involving escaped sharks and terrified boaters. Trouble comes when bad choices, a big storm, and super smart sharks collide.

Accidents and shark shenanigans leave the facility offline with traditional exits blocked and hallways filling with water and toothy predators, and a handful of survivors are left fighting for their lives as they try to reach the surface. The film has charisma and personality to spare, and while some of the effects border on shoddy animation, the bulk of the shark action is created via sharp CG and killer practical work. It's not entirely predictable who lives or dies (or when they die), and Harlin packs the film with grin-inducing sequences of triumph and chewing (of both flesh and scenery). And not for nothing, but we also get an end-credits theme song by LL Cool J featuring a chorus of "My head is like a shark fin!" So yeah, this is a pretty high water mark in shark attack movies.

It may have taken nineteen years to arrive, but the sequel's story feels like it was written in nineteen minutes. The details differ slightly while the narrative simply regurgitates what came before, starting with an underwater facility in the middle of the ocean receiving visitors just as everything turns to s***. They've been working to enhance shark intelligence in the hope that the resulting findings will help do the same in people. Why? Because mankind is at risk of being outsmarted and destroyed by artificial intelligence, and this is our only shot at beating Skynet. Okay, they don't actually mention Skynet, but the billionaire tech genius heading up the research screams that the war against the machines is coming and smart sharks are the only hope humanity has, so you do the math.

An "accident" topside disables the facility's communication and power controls, and as the various departments begin to flood, it becomes clear that five monster sharks are loose. But there's a twist! The adult sharks have stayed up top, and it's their killer babies that are feasting on the survivors in the underwater lab. Only two people have a chance of stopping the carnage, and both have totally serious-sounding names, so you know they mean business. Can the brilliant Misty Calhoun and the rugged Trent Slater save the day? Probably.

Deep Blue Sea was Harlin's last hit before a series of financial duds (Driven, Exorcist: The Beginning, Mindhunters) knocked him off Hollywood's speed-dial seemingly for good, and it remains among his very best films. Harlin's movie is no A-list affair, but the faces are familiar, talented, and charismatic. Thomas Jane stars (in a role that would be "borrowed" by Chris Pratt sixteen years later for Jurassic World) alongside Saffron Burrows, Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Rapaport, Stellan Skarsgård, and LL Cool J. Again, not big stars, but definitely known and likable talents.

None of the cast returns for the sequel, as is expected – it's been nineteen years after all – and there are no continuing characters. The cast is instead made up mostly of blank slates including Danielle Savre, Rob Mayes, Nathan Lynn, Stopmewhen Yourecognizesomeone, and others. None of them stand out as poor actors, but they also don't stand out, period. Director Darin Scott's filmography is equally uneventful with his two previous films being Something Wicked (2014) and Megachurch Murder (2015). Exactly. This DTV sequel is easily his highest-profile gig yet, and as with the cast, his work here is fine, serviceable, but far from memorable. Depending on your musical tastes, though, there is one area where the talent shift might just be an improvement: in lieu of a '90s rap, we get a '90s-like ballad called "Into the Blue" played over both the opening and end credits.

The core premise of humanity's hubris and unending quest for godhood isn't original to the first film, and the sequel follows in its Frankenstein-inspired footsteps. It's a classic genre trope, and the film doesn't stray from the formula: man tries to create and control life, and everyone in the vicinity pays the price. There's no one here you'll like, necessarily, but those you dislike die in satisfying enough ways. Also, there are sharks, so how bad can it be?

The necessary ingredients for a killer shark movie like this are minimal, but Deep Blue Sea 2 barely gets them right – basically, there are sharks and they are killing people. There's a distinct lack of fun, though, as the cast's previously-mentioned lack of charisma deflates any hope for personality or atmosphere. The energy and vitality emanating from Jackson, LL, Rapaport, and even Skarsgård in the first film have no replacement here. Neither performers nor characters stand out as interesting or entertaining, and that leaves the fun and thrills wholly dependent on the action set-pieces, script, and visuals.

And that's unfortunate.

Harlin's film is big and bright, and even when the camera moves viewers into hallways and rooms beneath the ocean, there's a vitality to its images. The sequel feels flat by comparison, and while exteriors are competent, the inside of the facility is too often dimly lit and its production design is bland. The script, meanwhile, follows predictable beats beyond the baby shark revelation, and it lacks anything resembling the first film's jaw-dropping kill highlights. Jackson's death in the original hits right after a gloriously positive and motivating speech, and the effort to recreate it here sees a forgettable player essentially telling the sharks to suck it before one jumps up and decapitates the idiot. Skarsgård's death in Harlin's film is legit harrowing (and blackly comic), and it also surprises with the death of its female lead in the final ten minutes, but the sequel's deaths don't register the slightest emotional or physical reaction. Every character's end is predictable and dull.

There are a pair of odd choices here, too: one that suggests something bigger, and one that suggests the money ran out. The former is evident in the wackadoodle billionaire scientist, who we discover has been shooting up with shark serum. The secret injections are immediately followed by formulas and diagrams swirling on the screen to imply he's learning, I guess? Nothing is done with this Beautiful Mind gibberish, though, despite my hope that he would turn into a Landshark. Speaking of nothing, while Harlin delivers three solid shark deaths (explosion! electric shock! err, another explosion!) as his characters fight back, there's nothing remotely satisfying like that here. There are five killer sharks plus numerous baby jaws, so you'd expect several cathartic kills, right? Nah. We see one goddamn shark offed here via a double flare to the mouth, and that's it. The rest are killed offscreen in an explosion. That's just unforgivable.

Patience may be a virtue, but Deep Blue Sea 2 isn't exactly a reward for our nineteen-year wait. Happily, it's far from the only shark attack movie out there, as the superior likes of The Shallows and even 47 Meters Down are recent thrill rides that range from great to good. Later this summer, we'll also be getting the wonderfully ridiculous-looking The Meg, so if you can hold out, I'd say skip this waterlogged turkey and stay patient just a few months longer.