In Theaters 27 Years Ago, an Unforgettable Shark Movie Outdid Jaws (And Gave Us an Epic Sam Jackson Moment)
It has been 27 years since a shark movie came out that outdid Jaws and delivered one of the best Samuel L. Jackson moments in movies. Jaws is a genuine masterpiece, and the movie helped create the idea of the summer blockbuster while proving that Steven Spielberg had arrived as a legitimate force of nature. However, when it comes to shark movies, it succeeds thanks to the tense pacing of the story, despite the lack of actual shark action. In truth, the shark was barely seen because it kept malfunctioning, and the movie is great because the shark is only hinted at through most of the run time, with only occasional moments of it showing up on the screen.
However, on July 28, 1999, Deep Blue Sea was released, and while it is much more of a shark exploitation movie, it had some incredible shark action and scenes that remain among the best in the genre. It also had the best Sam Jackson death scene in any movie.
Deep Blue Sea Came Out 27 Years Ago
Renny Harlin directed Deep Blue Sea, a 1999 sci-fi shark horror movie that was based on genetically engineered sharks who gained sentience. Saffron Burrows stars as Dr. Susan McAlester, a woman who is doing Alzheimer’s disease research and is using mako sharks to test out the research. The idea is to test a protein complex isolated from the brain tissue of their largest shark. However, McAlester genetically engineered all the sharks to increase their brain size to get more of the protein complex. With the shark now having heightened intelligence, they decide to fight back in an attempt to escape.
That is what helps Deep Blue Sea stand out. These aren’t just random sharks that attack people in the open sea. These are hyper-intelligent sharks that know how to track people down, get into closed rooms once the station is flooded, and kill without remorse. The cast helped raise the quality of what could have been a B-grade horror movie, and the humor helped this movie stand alongside films like Lake Placid as releases that rose above guilty pleasures and ended up as fantastic horror movies with a dark comedy edge.
Burrows was the lead in the movie, but her surrounding cast really stood out and stole most of the scenes they appeared in. LL Cool J was surprisingly great in one of his bigger film roles as the cook named Preacher who had a parrot that seemed to be his closest friend. He delivered some of the best quotes in the movie, especially when he was ready at the end of the movie to take the war to the sharks. Thomas Jane is great as the wrangler who is involved in most of the action. Even Michael Rapaport is great in his role as one of the engineers in way over his head.
That said, the best moment in the movie came with Samuel L. Jackson, who agreed to take on what was no more than a smaller supporting role. Jackson plays Russell Franklin, a corporate executive sent to investigate the facility after one of their sharks escaped and attacked a boat of youngsters. However, Russell didn’t last long because, as he stood and talked about the group sticking together, a giant shark leaped out of the water behind him and dragged him into the water, where another shark helped rip him in half in one of the best kills in any shark movie.
Deep Blue Sea Remains an Underrated Shark Movie
The Samuel L. Jackson death scene remains one of the best in movie history, but that was only part of what makes this movie a beloved cult classic, 27 years after its release. The movie’s smart sharks did something Jaws never did, and that was having dangerous underwater scenes with the sharks up close and personal as they attacked and tried to kill a colorful cast of characters that had enough personality for people to actually care about.
It also stands out because this isn’t a movie that paints general sharks as killing machines, something that films like Jaws have been accused of more than once. Because these sharks were genetically engineered, they were as much victims as the humans, and in some cases, specifically with Burrows’ Dr. McAlester, the humans were the real villains here, turning innocent sharks into killing machines. This movie doesn’t demonize sharks. It demonizes mad scientists who play god. This was paid off when McAlester sacrificed herself to save the others, resulting in the movie punishing the film’s real villain.
Add in the instantly quotable dialogue, especially from LL Cool J’s Preacher, and there is a lot to love about Deep Blue Sea. The movie was a box office success when released, making $165 million on a $60-$82 million budget, and it received slightly positive critical reviews, with a 60% Rotten Tomatoes score. Now celebrating its 27th anniversary, Deep Blue Sea is a shark movie with a bite, and just enough humor to make it a legitimate cult classic that stands up as well today as it did when it was released in 1999.
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