Deep Water, 2026.
Directed by Renny Harlin.
Starring Aaron Eckhart, Molly Belle Wright, Kelly Gale, Ben Kingsley, Angus Sampson, Rosie Zhao, Richard Crouchley, Rob Kipa-Williams, Mark Hadlow, Lakota Johnson, Madeleine West, Ryan Bown, Rarmian Newton, Lucy Barrett, Michael Cardelle, John De Luca, Sonia Dorado, Kate Fitzpatrick, Jacqueline Lee Geurts, Li Wenhan, and Tony Zhou.
SYNOPSIS:
A group of international passengers en route from Los Angeles to Shanghai are forced to make an emergency landing in shark-infested waters. Now they must work together in hopes to overcome the frenzy of sharks drawn to the wreckage.
In this day and age, one has become adjusted to the sub-genre of shark movies as an opportunity for absurdity, with filmmakers trying to outdo one another. Considering that such movies are typically cheap to make, one sees the appeal. However, with Deep Water, director Renny Harlin (working alongside the screenwriting team of Pete Bridges, Shayne Armstrong, S.P. Krause, Damien Power, and John Kim) opts for something refreshingly grounded with a focus on characters, even if, by the end, there isn’t much more to them than when the film started.
The upside to this is that the initial engine failure/plane crash into open waters for this flight to Shanghai (while preposterously initiated and would fit right at home in a Final Destination movie) is unflinchingly, unrelentingly brutal and visceral, with sharp objects flying all over the place, typically finding themselves smashing or piercing the flesh of frightened passengers who are simply trying to inhale oxygen flow and remain in their seats against turbulence.
Additionally, when the surviving, stranded characters do face a shark attack, it is equally visceral and more about the ugly reality of this danger rather than playing the situation for humorous thrills, where one eagerly awaits watching them get picked off one by one. The only exception is a dopey fool (Angus Sampson), who is the very reason this plane went down, who continuously fails to follow orders and keeps making more bumbling mistakes, building up excitement about when he will kick the bucket. It is a smart move to have at least one character we are actively rooting for to become shark food.
In other words, Deep Water is also a film that suggests Renny Harlin still has directing chops and that whatever happened with The Strangers (which had no business being a trilogy) was more him a victim of unfortunate circumstances. Admittedly, it also feels overstuffed with characters (sometimes with distinct characteristics and skills that one assumes might come into play during survival, only not to, or for some characters to be sidelined entirely until the ending) that sometimes reaches for an emotional reaction that feels forced, but again, it is a welcome reprieve that there are filmmakers putting fear back into a subgenre that has essentially become synonymous with nonsense.
Deep Water also marks the first time in a long time that star Aaron Eckhart actually feels checked into a role, giving a relatively worthwhile performance as a cockpit crew member tasked with ensuring the pilot (Ben Kingsley) keeps the plane on course and flies safely. As for the passengers, the one with the most screen time is a stubborn young daughter (Molly Belle Wright) who routinely disobeys her parents and refuses to get along with her stepbrother, choosing not to see him as a blood relative. Elsewhere, a grandmother (Kate Fitzpatrick) is unsure if she will ever see her grandchildren again.
Family itself is a recurring theme here, as Aaron Eckhart’s crew member, who inevitably takes it upon himself to lead the survival mission, is estranged from his family with some predictable baggage revealed by the conclusion. Also present are a pair of esports gamers (Tony Zhou and Li Wenhan), with the man shy to admit he has romantic feelings (one also wishes that the filmmakers took advantage of the sheer excellent teamwork required in those match-ups, transferring that into a unique strategic survival skill here somehow rather than leaving them coming across a couple of people). Then there are also various flight crew on hand, also trying to survive whilst looking after others. The parents and sibling of the aforementioned little girl are also separated, searching for one another. Rounding out the surviving manifest are, of course, hotheads who seemingly could revolt into mutiny at any time.
While characterization is more of a respected attempt here, Deep Water makes up for that shortcoming with some efficiently staged and tense set pieces, typically featuring characters manoeuvring around floating metallic scraps of the plane, often trying to reach lifeboats or return to loved ones. When a shark gets hold of someone, the gore succeeds in striving for grisly authenticity over overdoing the violence. Riddled with characters and cliches, even a couple of the emotional beats land. The ratio of what works here and what doesn’t is all over the place, but the film certainly stays above water more than it doesn’t.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★
Robert Kojder
