MovieChat Forums > Deep Blue Sea (1999) Discussion > Reasons why this movie is terrible

Reasons why this movie is terrible

posted 16 years ago by Recoil_
61 replies | jump to latest

- Unconvincing characters. Almost every single line is so cheesy and embarrassing that you feel guilty for watching this. I'm looking at you, Preacher.

- Stupid characters and situations. When the big glass window starts to crack, why are those idiots still standing there? It's painfully obvious that the window is going to shatter sooner or later, yet they keep waiting 'til the very last second just for some cheap suspense. And why doesn't Dr. Susan simply pour a few drops of her blood into the water instead of jumping down, exposing her defenseless ass to an intelligent, hungry shark?

- The terrible CGI and bad use of it. Was it really necessary to make the elevator shaft CGI? They could've pulled it off by shooting a model of it, AND it would've looked more realistic. Don't even get me started on the sharks.

- The pretentious dialogue sprinkled throughout the movie. The script writer was obviously trying to create some depth by adding religious themes but it just comes off as forced and ridiculous. AGAIN - I'm looking at you, Preacher.

The only way you can enjoy this movie is if you're either drunk or like watching bad movies just for the unintentional humour.

[–] bmalone135 16 years ago

The only way you can enjoy this movie is if you're either drunk or like watching bad movies just for the unintentional humour.

I was fine with your post until that little number. Please don't resort to attacking people who like movies you didn't. I happen to like this. And no, I was never drunk while watching it (never been drunk ever) and I don't usually watch bad movies just for the unintentional humor (I did once or twice).

I thought it was a pretty good movie. I do agree with a couple of your points. I don't understand why they were just standing there when the glass was breaking. I also don't get why Susan didn't just have her blood drop into the water. And did you notice that Carter falls down alot? Most of the time, he's the only one falling down.

Even though you didn't like the movie, there's no way you couldn't have enjoyed watching Samuel L. Jackson getting torn apart by the sharks. No matter how bad the effects, I think everyone loves an actor who usually plays the badass character getting turned into a chew toy for some hungry sharks.

By the way, if you are the type of person who watched bad movies for the uninteintional humor, I highly suggest the movie Mr. Jingles. That movie is so terrible, it is hilarious. I rented it one time because I thought it seemed good by reading the back cover of the case. However, the movie really has nothing to do with what it says on the case. My cousin and I were cracking about how bad it was. Apparently, the entire budget was a couple thousand dollars.

[–] Remisser 16 years ago

Also the research they were working on was ultimately destroyed so there was no happy ending.

[–] 16 years ago

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[–] name7574 16 years ago

No matter how much you're able to accept under the "it's a fun, bad movie" what is unforgivably stupid is the entire idea behind the plot. That the sharks are corralling the people to the surface and sinking the facility to get to the weaker steel cage above.

It makes absolutely NO sense that the sharks could understand that. Ok...there are brilliant sharks that can reason. That doesn't mean that they got ahold of schematics for the facility and studied them to find a weakness. It doesn't mean they inherently understand water/air pressure and how to sink the damn thing.

If my dog suddenly became a genius tomorrow afternoon, he still wouldn't be able to climb into the car and drive around town. There's a world of difference between reasoning and knowledge.

Stooooopid.

[–] MeanerWithTheScenery 16 years ago

I know right! I'm willing to ignore the science behind Burrows research (this is science fiction after all) but I expect some consideration for physical reality and common sense. Ultimately this movie was unforgivably stupid. The fence is titanium, but the top part of the cage is steel. Well... so what? They're smart but they're not psychic, how do they even know what titanium is? Or steel? Also, they can swim backwards because they're smarter? A shark can't swim backwards because a shark's pectoral fins do not and cannot bend upwards. Being smart really doesn't have much to do with it. A smart shark can no more swim backwards than smart people can bend their knees the opposite way. Painfully dumb movie.

"Yes, it's the apocalypse all right. I always thought I'd have a hand in it."

[–] ballybamba 15 years ago

'A smart shark can no more swim backwards than smart people can bend their knees the opposite way.'

That is a great example. lol

[–] Martin_jacobsen-590-274435 10 years ago

Well mate, since there to my knowledge never have been an intelligent shark at the level of those in the movie, meaning that we don't have any case in reality to compare this matter in the movie with and since we don't know how smart these sharks actually are, we therefore don't know what they know and what they don't.
I understand your argument, and your point about them having schematics for the facility, but as I have said we don't know what these sharks know and what they don't (just keep that in mind).
Another thing is that I have seen octopuses, who could open a glass, where there was a fish inside. It figured out to take off the top of the glass, so that it could get to the fish and that was an animal that has a relatively small brain :)

[–] halken_no1 10 years ago

You know what blows my "inferior" mind? That these sharks could scheme such a plan just so they can get to the great ocean beyond. So what, they do all this super-intelligent stuff just so they can escape and become stupid again like all their brothers and sisters out in the deep blue?

BLOWS MY "INFERIOR" MIND.

[–] paulfuller-3 10 years ago

Am I missing something regarding this whole "steel fencing" plot point? Is the facility only 8' off the ocean floor? If not, and it seems unlikely, when the supports collapse won't the sharks just be swimming out over the top of the fence???

[–] mantecasmostwanted 9 years ago

"If my dog suddenly became a genius tomorrow afternoon, he still wouldn't be able to climb into the car and drive around town. There's a world of difference between reasoning and knowledge."

That's because your dog doesn't have the right hands and feet to operate it. Given the fact that children, no smarter than dogs, can figure out how to drive I'm quite sure the typical dog could as well if they had the same body type as humans do.

[–] rorylanelutter 16 years ago

I like this movie :)

[–] bhatian 15 years ago

Ya right..........how could you like this film? It was a complete shame to film-making.

[–] Tales-from-the-Goondocks 10 years ago

"A complete shame to film-making"? Only if you have the most pretentious idea of what film-making is supposed to be.

[–] davidlytheer2 16 years ago

i agree with pretty much everyone else

- at the end - he has a gun yet drops it and jups into the water -seemingly for no reason!

- the sharks rip everyone apart within one bite yet ll cool j remains unscathed for almost minutes in its mouth!

- when the woman cut her hand at the end - that was a LOT of bloode for such a small cut lol

and just in general the film wasnt too good :(

[–] sugarspunsis-1 16 years ago

Ok this is trivial, but just an obeservation.... she cuts her hand pretty damn deep enough to yield alot of blood! if you stab your hand with a sharp implement hard enough, its possible! but good point earlier, she could have just dripped the blood into the water, saved the day, had that beer with Carter and could have got done up the ass at the same time... stupid bitch! I would have been gutted if I were Carter!

[–] 16 years ago

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[–] Dragoneyed363 15 years ago

Unconvincing characters. Almost every single line is so cheesy and embarrassing that you feel guilty for watching this. I'm looking at you, Preacher.

The characters weren't THAT bad.

When the big glass window starts to crack, why are those idiots still standing there? It's painfully obvious that the window is going to shatter sooner or later, yet they keep waiting 'til the very last second just for some cheap suspense. And why doesn't Dr. Susan simply pour a few drops of her blood into the water instead of jumping down, exposing her defenseless ass to an intelligent, hungry shark?

When the window cracks, yeah, they are SO retarded for just standing there looking at it.
As for Susan, they killed her off because she was the main cause of it all. They knew a lot of people would've been like,"Aw, what the crap, she lived," if she just threw a little blood in the water and went on with her life, so they killed her off to better please the audience.

The terrible CGI and bad use of it. Was it really necessary to make the elevator shaft CGI? They could've pulled it off by shooting a model of it, AND it would've looked more realistic. Don't even get me started on the sharks.

The shaft was pretty bad, but the sharks look WAY better than a lot of other film's CGI. I loved the CGI sharks and thought they looked very realistic.

The pretentious dialogue sprinkled throughout the movie. The script writer was obviously trying to create some depth by adding religious themes but it just comes off as forced and ridiculous. AGAIN - I'm looking at you, Preacher.

The CONSTANT religious remarks from LL Cool J WERE terribly cheesy and annoying, but as for the rest of the film, none of the dialogue was bad at all.

Aside from all those obvious flaws you have to admit this movie entertains and is not the worst of the worst.

This is my signature! It kicks all other signature's asses!!!

[–] sErpEnt_v 15 years ago

As for Susan, they killed her off because she was the main cause of it all. They knew a lot of people would've been like,"Aw, what the crap, she lived," if she just threw a little blood in the water and went on with her life, so they killed her off to better please the audience.

That may be true, does not change their point - which is a valid one - that she couldve tried to distract the shark without jumping in.

I do think it ultimately makes sense though. The idea was to get the shark's attention away from what is presented as the shark's "endgame", Im not sure if a few drops of blood would have been enough to accomplish that!

It would have been smarter writing to let her try the blood drop thing first, then figure out that its not enough, and then let her jump in.

_____
I don't know, Butchie, instead.

[–] davin_fealth 15 years ago

the blood dripping idea, cant be like a few little drops but a good amount say half a pint probably would have been sufficient. Sharks can trace blood from miles away. take that half pint of blood and throw it in the water in close proximity of the shark, its going to turn around

[–] simba122504 15 years ago

ITS A FUN FILM!

I'm glad Obama won, but I will not jump on the Pro-Choice bandwagon

[–] we_rock 15 years ago

everyone's entitled to our own opinion. IMO, I like this..and this movie was shot 1998...there weren't much great "realistic" effects back then...fyi..there are glasses which takes a lot of force before breaking...like really think fiber glasses...yes some lines are cheesy but who cares but you? (i am speaking in general fyi)..if you didnt like the movie, why bother finishing it?

Nathan: You got me chased by a munchkin and a transvestite!..E-MAN-uelle?! Has adam's apple!

[–] Ysquare 15 years ago

Your post is weird name7574. It's a movie about sharks hunting humans. It has good CGI (back then), an ok cast, a solid script (for a movie like this) and good action. So what's the deal? Yes some things are stupid, the dialogue is kinda strange at times, but it's a shark movie after all.

[–] jajceboy 15 years ago

I found it pretty good. Its not "Jaws, but its better than "Shark Attack".
Sure its unrealistic with plot holes and cheesy dialogues, but its a action movie and a blockbuster. Since when did action movies have realistic plots with amazing dialogue and acting?

I dont know what kind of movie you thought it would be, but got what i expected.

[–] hizherz 15 years ago

This movie was worth watching for Tom Jane alone.

[–] missbutterbee 15 years ago

True, he's not bad-looking at all :) Funny, I didn't know "Jane" could be a surname as well as a first name til I saw him in this movie...

I agree that some of the shark stuff was a bit lame (as if the screenwriters hadn't researched sharks at all, they just made it all up off the top of their heads) and maybe the CGI isn't the best, but on the whole the movie's not that bad.

It did terrify me once upon a time lol.

"Do you want it?" YES, Jareth!

[–] chilone 9 years ago

Funny, I didn't know "Jane" could be a surname as well as a first name til I saw him in this movie...

Funny, I didn't know there was a book of rules regarding names....

I don't love her.. She kicked me in the face!!

[–] chilone 9 years ago

Good to see that you came to your senses about obama!!

I don't love her.. She kicked me in the face!!

[–] Degree7 15 years ago

"- Unconvincing characters. Almost every single line is so cheesy and embarrassing that you feel guilty for watching this. I'm looking at you, Preacher."

LL Cool J's character wasn't too bad, it was that blonde chick that seriosuly got on my nerves.

"- Stupid characters and situations. When the big glass window starts to crack, why are those idiots still standing there? It's painfully obvious that the window is going to shatter sooner or later, yet they keep waiting 'til the very last second just for some cheap suspense. And why doesn't Dr. Susan simply pour a few drops of her blood into the water instead of jumping down, exposing her defenseless ass to an intelligent, hungry shark?"

I think they're paralyzed in both fascination and fear, considering they just saw a giant shark throw their coworker into the giant glass window protecting them from a wall of water... and then begins to crack!

Also, I think by that point Dr. Susan was a bit suicidal, sicne she lsot her research and her work led to the deaths of most of her coworkers in one weekend. I think she jumped in, but lost her nerve, a part of her midn agreeing with Carter to 'get the hell outta the water'. But she couldn't, so she paid the price.

"- The terrible CGI and bad use of it. Was it really necessary to make the elevator shaft CGI? They could've pulled it off by shooting a model of it, AND it would've looked more realistic. Don't even get me started on the sharks."

Hey, it was shot in 1998 as cited by a previous poster. I remember when it first came out, and it looked pretty realistic. I just watched it recently though, and you're right, it looks like *beep* now.

"- The pretentious dialogue sprinkled throughout the movie. The script writer was obviously trying to create some depth by adding religious themes but it just comes off as forced and ridiculous. AGAIN - I'm looking at you, Preacher."

I agree, the script was terrible.

"He fell for her like his heart was a mob informant, and she was the East River."

[–] 15 years ago

[deleted]

[–] Degree7 15 years ago

To me, the highlight of the DVD was Sam Jackson's commentary, as he is poking fun at Michael Rappaport almost the whole time.

Lol

HOW'S IT TASTE MOTHERF-CKER?!

[–] vphilip 14 years ago

" (you know that any movie with LL Cool J in it is going to be corny...ahem...Halloween Resurrection...ahem...)"

Uhm. Wrong black guy. That was definitely Busta rhymes in all his dreadlocked glory...

I'll admit, it's not great. But it's REALLY entertaining in all of its over the top impossible scenes! And I watched this sober...why waste alcohol/bud on this when there are so many other things to do that on?

But minor correction aside, you're entitled to your thoughts, ja?

[–] cljohnston108 14 years ago

Agreed on all counts!
I'm just now seeing this for the first time, and suddenly The Core seems like a great film!

I was laughing hysterically pretty much every time something happened, because it was all so ridiculous.
Aside from what you listed...
• That chopper would not even be able to take off in that weather, much less hover.
• The way the shark threw the stretcher-bound scientist at the window. (Not a single bit of proper physics in any of the CGI!)
• Etc., etc.

I paused the movie and eagerly sought out Ebert's review, assured that he'd give it one star and tear it to shreds.
Imagine my horror when I saw three stars at the top, and that he found almost nothing wrong with it! That just creeps me out.
http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19990728/REV IEWS/907280301/1023

[–] tubularbelle2003 14 years ago

LL Cool J was in Halloween H20 incidentally, but I digress.
Saffron Burrows is one bad actress, her expression rarely changes and her voice has little inflection. She was definitely the worst thing about the film.

The Long Walk stops every year, just once.