Deep Blue Sea 2 Blu-ray despite solid video and audio falls short as a Blu-ray release
When shark conservationist Dr. Misty Calhoun is invited to consult on a top-secret project run by pharmaceutical billionaire Carl Durant, she is shocked to learn that the company is using unpredictable and highly aggressive bull sharks as its test subjects, which soon break loose and cause havoc.
For more about Deep Blue Sea 2 and the Deep Blue Sea 2 Blu-ray release, see Deep Blue Sea 2 Blu-ray Review published by Michael Reuben on April 25, 2018 where this Blu-ray release scored 2.0 out of 5.
Deep Blue Sea 2 isn't so much a sequel as a remake. It takes the basic premise of Renny Harlin's
1999 original and replays the scenario with a lesser cast, a lower
budget and (giving the devil his
due) better CGI. The film was initially developed by Warner Premiere, the now-defunct label
created by Warner Brothers for direct-to-video projects like the two Lost Boys sequels, The Tribeand The Thirst, and Get Smart's Bruce and Lloyd: Out of
Control. Warner Premiere was
shuttered in 2012, but DBS2 kept moving forward. Warner released a trailer in January of this
year, and now the finished product is available on DVD and Blu-ray.
In what is no doubt a tacit acknowledgment that the film can't withstand critical scrutiny, Warner
refused to provide pre-release review screeners, which is the direct-to-video equivalent of
canceling critics' screenings. You can't get a bad score at Rotten Tomatoes if Tomatometer
reviewers don't see the movie. (Since I'm not part of that group, this review won't change anything.)
Once again, we find ourselves in an isolated oceanic facility—this time off the coast of South
Africa—where scientists are genetically modifying sharks to increase their intelligence. In the
first film, the goal was a laudable effort to develop a cure for Alzheimer's, but in DBS2 the ultimate
object of the experiment is to enhance human intelligence so that it can keep ahead of the rapidly
expanding potential of A.I. The project is funded and overseen by billionaire pharmaceutical
entrepreneur Carl Durant (Michael Beach, a good actor who deserves better material). A poor
man's Steve Jobs, Durant is a visionary who has—you'll pardon the expression—gone off the
deep end. In addition to spouting apocalyptic nonsense about the threat of thinking machines, he
has also been secretly dosing himself with the same serum being administered to the sharks,
though it doesn't appear to have made him any smarter. (Indeed, to all appearances, the
opposite.)
Like Hammond in Jurassic Park, Durant gathers a
group of scientists at his facility, although it's
unclear for what reason other than to admire his work. The group consists of a shark expert,
Misty Calhoun (Danielle Savre), and a newlywed pair of neuro-scientists, Leslie and Daniel Kim
(Kim Syster and Jeremy Boado). They join the station's existing crew, which includes trainer
Trent Slater (Rob Mayes), who is already sounding alarms about the behavior of the five
experimental bull sharks led by a "queen" named Bella. Sure enough, shortly after the scientists'
arrival, Bella and her brood attack the facility, wrecking its generator, cutting off
communications, flooding the corridors and turning everyone aboard into potential fish food.
DBS2 has three credited writers, but they haven't contributed anything beyond scenarios lifted
from other, better movies—James Cameron is a major source—accented by a few big speeches
for Durant and formulaic exchanges for everyone else. They certainly haven't made any effort to
explain the many obvious questions raised by the rickety plot. Why has Durant chosen bull
sharks for his experiment over all other varieties, when, as Misty explains in an opening lecture,
they're the most savage and dangerous of the species? How does Trent "control" the sharks with
the device hanging around his neck, which appears to be a glorified garage door opener? Other
than teaching them to swim in formation and turn on command, how has the team measured the
sharks' mental development? Why has Trent devoted so much effort to fortifying the electrical
perimeter preventing the sharks from escaping into the open sea—unsuccessfully, as the opening
sequence shows—while he apparently hasn't given any thought to fortifying the facility itself,
which proves ludicrously easy to disable? (The generator perched perilously on an outcropping
and surrounded by easily toppled fuel cans is especially vulnerable.) And what kind of idiot
sticks his arm through a shark's open mouth and down its throat, even if the beast is supposedly
drugged? (There's this thing called "reflex action".)
The viewer has plenty of time to contemplate these and other incongruities in DBS2, as director
Darin Scott (Something Wicked) sends his cast wading
through corridors, struggling with stuck
hatches and floating debris, and gasping for breath in sequences that have been done before (and
better) in Leviathan, Deep Star Six, The Abyss
and the original Deep Blue Sea. Scott says in the
extras that he wanted DBS2 to feel like a horror film, which is presumably why his third act
features frames that are tinted with alternating washes of blue, red and green. The effect is
supposed to be atmospheric, but it turns out to be visually boring (although it does help conceal
the budgetary limitations of the production design). DBS2 offers one minor novelty, courtesy of a
new "breed" of shark, but it has nothing to match the memorable shocker that was a crucial
factor in elevating Harlin's original film to cult status. (If you've seen the first DBS, you know
what I'm talking about.) Nothing in this sequel rises above the predictably routine, including the
ending, which is presumably designed to set up another sequel that, with any luck, will never be
made.
Deep Blue Sea 2 was shot by Thomas L. Callaway, who has partnered with director Darin Scott
on previous independent horror efforts. Specific information about the shooting format was not
available, but the film has the appearance of a digitally acquired project finished on a digital
intermediate after substantial effects work (which is explored in the extras). The image on
Warner's 1080p, AVC-encoded Blu-ray is typical of such projects, with generally good detail
and sharpness, except in the film's third act, where, as noted above, the entire frame has been
tinted with alternating washes of blue, red and green (and occasionally yellow), which tends to
blur detail and soften edges. Earlier scenes outside the facility feature superior clarity, with a
palette dominated by marine blues, which become even more pervasive once the team descends
inside, where the interiors are dim and detail falls off. Banding occasionally intrudes, but it is
relatively minor. Warner has mastered DBS2 on a BD-25 with a low average bitrate of 19.96
Mbps, which is reminiscent of past practices that the studio should have abandoned by now.
Still, it's unclear whether more generous compression would noticeably benefit the film, given its
generally flat and dull visuals.
DBS2 arrives with a DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack that barely takes advantage of the material's
opportunities. If director Scott wanted a horror film atmosphere, the surrounds should have been
continuously alive with ominous dripping, creaking, metallic groans and unidentifiable
disturbances that might or might not signal the approach of a predator, but the mix forgoes such
opportunities, falling back on generic ambiance. The dynamic range is broad enough to lend
authority to the sharks' attacks on the facility and the occasional explosion, but nothing on the
track will challenge anyone's subwoofer. Dialogue is clearly rendered and appropriately
prioritized, and the score by Sean Murray (another veteran of director Scott's independent horror
projects) does what it can to supply tension and suspense to a film sorely lacking in both.
Returning to the Deep: Making Deep Blue Sea 2 (1080p; 1.78:1; 12:21): For some
reason, bad movies often have some of the best behind-the-scenes featurettes. This one
includes an extensive roster of cast and crew and a broad overview of the film's effects
and stunts. (Note, however, that it's full of spoilers.)
Deep Blue Sea 2: Death by Shark (1080p; 1.78:1; 6:32): This plays like an extension of
the longer "making of", with the focus on individual death scenes. (Again, major spoilers
abound.)
Gag Reel (1080p; 1.78:1; 3:08): Instead of the usual collection of flubs, this "gag reel"
captures the cast mugging and horsing around between takes.
Deleted Scenes (1080p; 1.78:1; 4:40): The four scenes are not separately listed or
selectable. The most notable are a flashback to Misty's childhood and an extended
conversation between Misty and Trent about the sharks' training.
Introductory Trailers: The film's trailer is not included. At startup, the disc plays
trailers for Dirt, Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay, Batman Ninja and Tomb Raider,
plus the
familiar Warner promo for 4K discs (which, in this context, is almost laughable).
Skip Deep Blue Sea 2 and watch Shark Week instead. If you want to see an entertainingly
schlocky shark movie, get the original Deep Blue Sea.
Or go back to the source and watch Jaws.
Even the most laughable Jaws sequel would be better than DBS2.
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Blu-ray.com is offering members a chance to win copies of Deep Blue Sea 2, the 2018 follow up to Renny Harlin's 1999 original Deep Blue Sea. Deep Blue Sea 2 is available now on Blu-ray.
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has announced that it will release on Blu-ray Darin Scott's action thriller Dee Blue Sea 2 (2017), starring Danielle Savre, Michael Beach, Rob Mayes, Lily Spangenberg, Darron Meyer, and Nathan Lynn. The release will be available ...
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