Deep Blue Sea (Film Review)

1999 Warner Bros.
Directed by: Renny Harlin; Written by: Duncan Kennedy, Donna Powers, and Wayne Powers
Starring: Saffron Burrows, Thomas Jane, LL Cool J, Jacqueline McKenzie, Michael Rapaport, Stellan Skarsgård, and Samuel L. Jackson
MPAA Rating: R; Running Time: 105 Minutes
The Nicsperiment Score: 7/10

When a massive experimental shark nearly gobbles down a boatload of college students, just before being captured and brought back to its underwater scientific facility, the owner of that facility is ready to shutdown the whole operation. However, the scientists, particularly the female lead, Susan McCallister, insist they're close to making a breakthrough in their Alzheimers research, as it turns out shark brains just might be the cure for the human degenerative disease. However, these specific shark brains are special. Turns out Susan has been tweaking the facility sharks' brains to harvest more experimental proteins...and now they're getting smarter When the owner comes to visit for a big make or break experiment, the sharks have other plans: turn on their masters, eat as many as possible, and then escape. 
1999's Deep Blue Sea is the most glorious kind of big dumb monster movie, made with a big budget by people with care and know-how. Renny Harlin, the Finnish action director, brings his A-game to this B-movie, paying meticulous attention to detail, with enormously well-crafted action sequences and shark attacks, excellent visual representation of the underwater station's geography, and a general visceral sense of cohesion, backed by technical excellence. If the smart-dumb script calls for a scene where a helicopter crashes into the facility, you best bet Harlin will crash a real helicopter into the facility! That's not to say the movie isn't stupid at times or doesn't have its flaws. 25-feet long sharks swim through three-feet deep corridor water, completely unseen. The CGI, when employed, isn't always great.
However, the majority of the shark footage either comes through the service of incredibly crafted and controlled animatronics or live shark recordings, giving Deep Blue Sea a gritty, tactile feel not often found in the film's shark movie contemporaries. The performances are also top notch fun, from Thomas Jane's "just a dude" hero protagonist, to Saffron Burrows' villainous Dr. Frankenstein turn, to LL Cool J's surprisingly excellent transition to believable--and highly rootable--action star. Deep Blue Sea is also chock-full of humor and memorable lines and moments. Even the music score is greatt, featuring some near if not not career best work from Trevor Rabin, who presents a chum line of memorable themes, and fun, rousing cues. 
While Deep Blue Sea was simply a fun way to spend a summer afternoon in 1999, in the last 25 years, it's proven to be a post-Jaws benchmark to which not a single shark flick has successfully measured up. I guess it takes a Finn...