Dir. John Stockwell, US, 2005, 10 mins
Cast: Paul Walker, Jessica Alba, Scott Caan, Ashley Scott, Josh Brolin, James Frain
So, here we have the combined talents of the director of Blue Crush, the writer of Torque (Matt Johnson), Jessica Alba in a bikini, and that blonde guy from BOTH The Fast and the Furious films. Hmmm – I wonder what this film will be like? Aha, gotcha! You see, Into the Blue is actually not too bad at all – in fact, it’s quite enjoyable.
In this good old-fashioned adventure romp, Alba stars as Sam and Walker as Jared, a couple who live on a boat in the Bahamas and who spend their time diving for buried treasure. Suffice to say, it’s hardly a luxury vessel they inhabit. However, Bates (Brolin), does have a nice big boat – he’s rich and successful, docked alongside our heroes, he wants to hire Jared. The thing is, Bates seems just a little bit shady.
Following the arrival of their friend Bryce (Brolin) and his newly-acquired girlfriend, Amanda (Scott), the group go diving and make not one, but two discoveries. The first is the wreck of an old ship, the Zephyr - and the second is a plane. A plane loaded with drugs. Oh, and there’s some sharks thrown in for good measure too.
What sets this film apart from other such films is that the characters do actually develop. They ponder the moral ethics of what they should do with the finds, and there is very much a sense of story here. There is still plenty of action, more than a little suspense, quite a few surprises, and the underwater scenes are executed remarkably well. For once here is a film that should surpass your (albeit low) expectations.
Alison Best
Trailer
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