Deep Water Review
Ben is an airline pilot who has been away from his family for a very long time. But it’s not because of the airline. He has been avoiding returning home because he cannot bear to see his ill son slowly dying in the hospital. Unable to face reality, he takes one flight after another. Unfortunately for him, his latest flight is doomed to disaster.
As the flight makes the long haul from the US to China, a fire breaks out in the cargo hold due to a carelessly packed electronic device with a faulty battery. As one safety system after another fails, Ben and his captain, Rich, are forced to land the plane on the water.
After a horrific crash that kills most of the passengers and crew, the survivors find themselves stranded in the middle of the ocean, awaiting rescue. However, their crash has attracted the attention of a new threat – dozens of sharks. Ben and the remaining passengers must work together in order to last long enough to be rescued as the unlucky survivors are picked off one by one.
Deep Water was not exactly what I was expecting. I anticipated an over-the-top “Sharks on a Plane” type concept in the tone of The Meg. After all, this was directed by Renny Harlin, who also directed Deep Blue Sea. But that’s not what this is. It’s more of a 70’s-era disaster-adventure in the spirit of The Poseidon Adventure. (One character even makes a reference to Shelly Winters’ character in that film.) But once I adjusted my expectations, I was along for the ride.
The eye towards realism adds to the film’s intensity. The plane crash is one of the more realistic and violent that I’ve seen in a long time. Let’s put it this way – Deep Water is unlikely to be shown on any in-flight movies anytime soon.
Once the survivors are in the water, the sharks soon appear. The CG sharks are portrayed way more realistically than they typically are in films. Rather than quickly attacking their victims in a spray of blood, they give an initial test bite to see if they want to eat the prey.
This is much more like a shark’s behavior in the real world than eating people whole. That actually adds to the suspense as they give people initial horrifying wounds and then the victim struggles as they wait for the shark to return. “Deep Water” will definitely keep some people out of the ocean this summer.
If you’re ever in a disaster, Aaron Eckhart is the man you want leading you. His calm, cool demeanor in the face of danger makes him a great hero in this type of film. Eckhart plays the role totally straight throughout. There are no humorous one-liners or other jokes associated with him, but that works for his character as the Gene Hackman of the bunch.
He’s paired with Sir Ben Kingsley as his Captain. Ben isn’t particularly challenged by this role, but he earns his paycheck. He comes across as a real pilot as he and Eckhart put everything they learned in flight school on display. Again, if I have to crash in the Pacific with a couple of actors, my chances of survival seem higher with them in the cockpit.
While I did have to adjust my expectations of Deep Water as a serious disaster-movie throwback, there are a few touches I think it could have benefited from. There was some humor here and there, but it could have used some more dark humor. A well-placed character reaction after some of the scares could have helped.
Deep Water also focused a lot on the crash and less on the sharks. It could have used more sharks. But I suppose that was somewhat constrained by the budget. Sharks are expensive and probably charge as much as Sir Ben Kingsley.
The supporting cast is also largely forgettable, serving primarily as shark food. Moments are made to give them personality or make you care about them, but most of them don’t have enough screen time to accomplish that goal.
When Chinese financiers pay for a film, it becomes very apparent in the final product. Chinese characters are the heroes. Chinese characters ultimately save the day. There’s a fair amount of dialogue in Chinese. You get the idea. It starts becoming comedically distracting. But if it’s what is required to get the shark movie made, I suppose I understand.
There just has to be a more subtle way to meet their financing requirements. Matters aren’t helped by Americans generally being portrayed as violent, arrogant, and disgusting in the film, particularly by the likes of Angus Sampson as Dan. He’s the one over-the-top thing in this otherwise serious film.
Deep Water also has an astounding number of producers. I counted almost 50 producers and executive producers, including KISS’s Gene Simmons. Maybe he should have been one of the passengers in the film!
Deep Water is for anyone who enjoys disaster films or shark movies. It’s a light summer popcorn film and serves as good counterprogramming to The Devil Wears Prada 2. It is also utterly forgettable after viewing.
DEEP WATER REVIEW RATING: 6 OUT OF 10
Magenta Light Studios will release Deep Water in theaters on Friday, May 1, 2026. The film has been rated R by the Motion Picture Association (MPA) for violent content/bloody images and some language.
