Into the Blue

I'd read about this film and seen the trailer and knew I would see it even after I read all the damning reviews people have written.

For the first hour, it's easy to see why people might get bored, there's a lot of character and story building going on and besides the diving there isn't a lot else going on action-wise. Personally, I am quite into diving so for me the appeal was there. It was quite odd for me as after an hour I had found myself totally immensed in the story and unaware of anything else happening in the cinema around me! After the first hour things really start hotting up and the action begins. Without giving too much away the climax is just about right in terms of time although Jared's summary of who is crossing or double-crossing who was rather too brief and quick for me. Never mind, we all knew who was the bad guy anyway. And so after the climax is the finale and it's predictable stuff sure, but I'm all for a happy ending (hey, who isn't?!).

I summary, I would recommend this to anyone 25 or under really. The story is solid enough to keep you interested and the diving scenes are pretty spectacular (as is Jessica Alba!). As long as you aren't expecting an Oscar winner you'll do fine!

Which is: popcorn. This PG-13 "kiddie-action" gets a solid 6/10 from me. I did have my expectations low but that has nothing to do with the fact that this movie is as solid and tight as Jessica Alba in bikinis! There were more than just a few moments where there was either a twist I didn't see coming or an intense moment that left me thinking "OK, wasn't this supposed to be a PG-13 movie?" On top of those, the overall - checklist looks green: dialog, characters, tempo, photography, editing... All in all, a cut above the rest in its own genre and a "risk-free" choice to rent. Shame it did only 18 million at the box-office because it's as good as "The Fast and the Furious"!

Paul Walker and Jessica Alba play a struggling young couple living in the Bahamas. Friend Scott Caan shows up with latest girlfriend Ashley Scott, and when the four go diving they find buried treasure. Not only do they find a recent plane crash filled with drugs, but also a long lost pirate ship rumored to contain gold. "Into The Blue" is wonderfully shot, with beautiful scenery of the water and diving, and it's barely dressed actors. The film drifts around for it's first hour or so without too much going on. Most of the movie at first consists of the two couples arguing over what to do with the lost treasure. Caan and Scott, playing the selfish couple want to take the drugs immediately, while the more responsible couple(Walker and Alba) want to go about things the right way by filing a claim. Then the film really picks up at the end leading to a very exciting, and surprisingly violent final half hour.

The film's first half isn't bad, except for the prologue, which isn't needed. A youthful, photogenic guy with big dreams, accompanied by his photogenic girlfriend, uses a skimpy boat to look for sunken treasure beneath the clear, blue waters off the Bahamas.

The visuals are dazzling, with bright, vivid colors, and some terrific underwater photography that captures images of real sharks and real fish, not fake CGI effects. The plot stays slow, lazy, and realistic. The script then brings in an additional couple, turning the story into a semi-ensemble character setup. As the plot develops, our two photogenic couples find some interesting stuff beneath the waves, which revs up the tension and conflict, and presents characters with moral dilemmas.

But the second half deteriorates into your typical Hollywood assembly-line action flick, with a whole series of super fast edit sequences and silly, totally unrealistic, out-of-control plot points spurred on by peripheral characters that detract enormously from the two couples. Frenetic action, accompanied by irritatingly frenetic background music, ruins the second half, and makes a mockery of the story's premise.

Acting is okay, I guess, given that this is a highly physical film wherein physical attractiveness and agility probably mean more than subtle theatrical skills. If there's a weakness here it's Scott Caan, whose cocky Bryce comes across as a total jerk, with nary a redeeming quality.

"Into The Blue" is very easy to judge. It contains wonderful cinematography, especially the underwater segments. And the strong visuals get support from impressive sound effects. But the story, though it begins well, collapses in the second half. The script is to blame. And yet I can't help but think that the real villain here is some Hollywood producer, typically underestimating the intelligence of viewers, who thinks that the story doesn't really matter if there's enough eye candy and explosive, mind-blowing action.

I was astonished at the dismal rating for this film, which at the time of this writing was 4.8. Into the Blue never demonstrated any pretense of becoming the next academy award winner, and instead faithfully executed its focus -- beautiful ocean scenery, beautiful bodies, and a significant degree of tension and action to carry the plot. I found the characters believable, especially given the target audience of the movie: the dialog was fairly cleverly humorous, but serious when it needed to be; the characters were adequately conceived, including the intentionally unlikeable 4th party woman who "wasn't family." Most of all, I enjoyed the pacing of the movie. Some slow underwater scenes were accompanied by peaceful music belying the increasingly perilous situations the characters found themselves in. Halfway through the movie, the tension never fully dissipates, as each event flows into the next as the stakes rise. The badguys are dealt with intelligently, and there are enough twists to convincingly carry the instability and danger of the situation.

I went into this movie wanting to enjoy it, and I wasn't disappointed. Though its premise wasn't the most intellectual of premises, I don't feel as if it were dumbed down as much as many action movies do, and instead carried out is plot with due respect given its expectations. I'd recommend this movie as a good post-summer adventure flick!