'Deep Water' Review
- Dempsey Pillot
- 1 hour ago
- 3 min read
Release Date: 05/01/26 [Cinemas]
Genre: Action. Drama. Horror. Thriller.
MPAA: Rated R.
Distributor: Magenta Light Studios.
The Verdict: A Must-See
If you had a nickel for every time Renny Harlin made a film about sharks with the word “deep” in the title, you’d only have two nickels. But isn’t it weird that it’s happened twice? Twenty-seven years after directing Deep Blue Sea, Harlin delivers Deep Water - a film that toes the tide between disaster flick and creature feature in all the best ways possible until it starts to sink under the weight of its own promise.
The film follows a group of strangers who wind up stranded at sea after a plane crash. Just when they think the worst is over, they realize that they are literal sitting ducks in shark-infested waters. As they wait for help to come, they must also fight for their lives.
Aaron Eckhart and Sir Ben Kingsley lead a cast of most unfamiliar faces as the two head pilots of the doomed flight. Eckhart delivers one of his best performances in years as a man living on the fringes of life. Early on, we learn that he throws himself into his job to avoid dealing with his dying son. It isn’t until he’s forced to confront death head-on, he ironically finds a new lease on life. Unsurprisingly, Kingsley delivers a memorable performance as Eckhart’s cohort. His character here is particularly optimistic, which foils Eckhart’s initial downer demeanor. He (spoiler alert) isn’t in the film for long, but even at the end of his rope he maintains his positive attitude.
Other standouts in the cast include Molly Belle Wright and Angus Sampson. Wright plays one of two siblings who go missing in the aftermath of the crash, while Sampson plays the human villain of the film. While he is technically the reason the passengers end up in their predicament, his prolonged presence in the film feels like it’s meant to check of a box. Although the chaos he causes in the aftermath of the crash is undoubtedly entertaining, the film would remain afloat without him.
Having Harlin return to the helm a new shark movie after nearly three decades is as much of a treat as it sounds. Not only are there far greater kills this time around, but he gets to flex his muscle as a director of disaster too. The film’s plane crash sequence alone is as terrifying as the original premonition in Final Destination. One second, the passengers are at peace. The next, he shows all the brutal ways you can die on a plane before it crashes, burns up or runs out of oxygen. Keep in mind, that’s before the sharks! When the sharks arrive, Harlin continues to keep you in suspense wondering who will die - and how. Admittedly, not all of the kills are creative. But all are fun (if not, funny). Similar to Deep Blue Sea, no one is safe.
At just over 90 minutes, the film does a good job at maintaining altitude. The story is simple. Each character’s objective is simple. But it does begin to fall in its third act. The film attempts to test its own weight by seeing if it can muster up more drama above water. But it can’t. So after many of the survivors finally meet up, it feels like they are waiting for the movie to end. And you feel like you’re in that raft waiting too.
Deep Water is no Jaws. It’s even inferior to Harlin’s previous creature feature Deep Blue Sea. But it’s far from chum. You can call it a surface level thriller, but it stands out from the ocean of shark-centric b-movies of the last decade simply because it’s a bloody good time.
