Deep Blue Sea (1999) Arrow 4K UHD Review

Plot: From Renny Harlin, maximalist director of Die Hard II, Cliffhanger and The Long Kiss Goodnight, comes Deep Blue Sea, a shark-infested action-thriller where everyone is on the menu.

At an isolated research facility in the middle of the ocean, a team of scientists, led by Susan McAlester (Saffron Burrows), are working on a cure for Alzheimer’s by genetically altering the brains of sharks. When a shark escapes and attacks a pleasure boat, the company sponsoring the research threatens to pull its funding and sends corporate executive Russell Franklin (Samuel L. Jackson) to investigate. McAlester has just 48 hours to prove the value of her work, but her experiments have made the sharks smarter. No longer happy to be injected, prodded, and caged, they begin to turn the tables. As a freak storm causes chaos on the surface, making it impossible to leave, the facility is flooded and the scientists must fight to survive against the rising water and the hungry sharks that now swim freely through the corridors.

Embracing action, horror and suspense with a knowing sense of humor and pushing them all as far as they can go, Deep Blue Sea is an adrenaline rush of pure entertainment presented in a brand new 4K restoration approved by director Renny Harlin. Come on in, the water’s great!

Review: Jaws is seen as the daddy of all shark movies and rightly so, but for me Deep Blue Sea is a close second. I’ve always had a soft spot for it and it’s also the first North American DVD I ever bought way back in the day. I’m not sentimental though and recently got rid of the DVD to get the shiny new 4K courtesy of Arrow.

Deep Blue Sea has a great cast including Samuel L. Jackson, Thomas Jane, LL Cool J, Michael Rapaport, Saffron Burrows and Stellan Skarsgård. The film is about a group of scientists who are searching for a cure to Alzheimer’s disease on an isolated research facility where they quickly become the prey, as a trio of intelligent sharks fight back.

This movie is pure entertainment from start to finish and it’s perfectly paced; the characters are memorable with LL Cool J providing some of the laughs as Sherman ‘Preacher’ Dudley and Thomas Jane as our heroic lead Carter. Samuel L. Jackson’s speech scene has become iconic and remains arguably the film’s highlight. Saffron Burrows is the scientist who is well meaning but actually quite evil as all she cares about is rescuing her research and gets the fate she deserves in the end.

On the action front there are some incredible explosions in this movie and some good kills too; we all know some of the early CG is janky and it always was, but thankfully most of the sharks are done using animatronics, so most of it still holds up.

The film may be seen as a little goofy, but I do love it despite some minor quibbles and the cast all play it straight; I like how the characters are mostly appealing so we aren’t just waiting for them to die, but actually want them to escape.

The picture and sound quality are incredible with Trevor Rabin’s score my favourite aspect of the entire film. I forgot just how loud this movie was so I had to keep adjusting the volume during the set-pieces and quieter moments so I could hear what people were saying. I am getting a new hearing aid this weekend though so that will likely help on that front.

The 4K quality is pretty much perfect with nice vibrant colours although was it always so orange/yellow looking? The surround sound is fantastic with the sharks whooshing past really adding to the jump scares.

Special Features:

• Brand new 4K restoration of the film from the original camera negatives by Arrow Films approved by director Renny Harlin
• 4K (2160p) Ultra HD Blu-ray presentation
• Original DTS HD-MA 5.1 and Dolby Atmos audio options
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• Brand new audio commentary by screenwriter Duncan Kennedy
• Brand new audio commentary by filmmaker and critic Rebekah McKendry
• Archive audio commentary by director Renny Harlin and star Samuel L. Jackson
• From the Frying Pan… into the Studio Tank, a new interview with production designer William Sandell
• Beneath the Surface, a new visual essay by film critic Trace Thurman
• When Sharks Attack: The Making of Deep Blue Sea, an archive featurette
• The Sharks of the Deep Blue Sea, an archive featurette
• Deleted scenes with optional audio commentary by director Renny Harlin
• Theatrical trailer
• Image gallery
• Reversible sleeve with original and newly commissioned artwork by Luke Preece
• 60-page perfect bound collector’s book containing new writing by film critics Josh Hurtado, Jennie Kermode, and Murray Leeder, plus previously unseen production art and designs
• Double-sided fold-out poster featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Luke Preece
• Postcards from Aquatica

Some of the special features are archive and were previously available however, there is enough new material here to make this well worth adding to the collection. I particularly enjoyed the new visual essay by film critic Trace Thurman called Beneath the Surface where he explores the Feminine in the movie. The deleted scenes we’ve seen before and aren’t anything exciting so it’s understandable why they were cut for pacing reasons. The interesting thing is the deleted party scene where Saffron Burrows gives her speech about how proud she is of everyone humanizes her more. There are several hours’ worth of entertainment here with nearly every aspect of the film explored; I do wish there was a feature on the score and an interview with Trevor Rabin but that’s just me.

Overall, Deep Blue Sea is a hugely entertaining B movie with some amazing explosions, an incredible cast and one of Trevor Rabin’s best scores. This new 4K has hours of special features to keep you entertained and the film looks and sounds better than ever.