Deep Water (2026)
Directed by: Renny Harlin
Premise: A jet airliner crashes in the Pacific Ocean. The crew and passengers fight to survive as they are surrounded by sharks.
What Works: Renny Harlin is an experienced action filmmaker having directed Die Hard 2, Cliffhanger, and Deep Blue Sea. The action set pieces of Deep Water are quite good, especially the crash sequence. The set piece is longer than the typical Hollywood plane crash and although the sequence is loud and furious it is also coherent, crosscutting between different people on the plane and telling stories of their survival. It’s thrilling and frightening and even manages a bit of humor. The shark attack sequences are also done well. Unlike Harlan’s Deep Blue Sea, which fully revealed the sharks right away, Deep Water holds back and uses the sharks more judiciously. Shark special effects have an inconsistent track record but the sharks of Deep Water are convincing. Another distinguishing quality of Harlan’s action and horror films is their viciousness. He’s generally willing to kill characters that might otherwise be safe in another movie. Deep Water isn’t precious with its characters and the willingness to kill off anyone raises the stakes.
What Doesn’t: Deep Water suffers from a lot of stupid details. The plane crashes in the ocean, submerging everyone to some degree, but somehow their cell phones still work and their clothes and hair are often dry. Deep Water is a disaster movie and like a lot of these sorts of films it includes a sizeable cast. Most disaster movies crisscross several characters’ lives and engineer subplots in which the characters face personal fears or resolve fractured relationships. No one in Deep Water really does that. The focus is on minute-to-minute survival but there is nothing more to the movie than that. Most of the characters are one-dimensional at best. Some of them have a distinguishing characteristic such as the American businessman (Angus Sampson) who is irresponsible and willing to do anything to survive. But no one has any depth and they don’t face anything personal so the film lacks emotional engagement. Deep Water tends to be episodic and dramatically flat. The overall story lacks a sense of dramatic escalation. After the crash, the survivor’s circumstances do not really get worse and the end of the picture does not deliver a feeling of relief.
Bottom Line: Deep Water has some exceptional moments but overall the film underwhelms. It’s only exciting in fits and starts and never fully engages the audience. This shipwreck scenario was done better in Cyclone and The Reef.
Episode: #1098 (May 10, 2026)