Trappola in fondo al mare

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.

Four young divers come across a legendary shipwreck that is rumoured to contain millions in gold, but nearby to their lucky find is another more sinister mystery. As rival treasure hunters begin to suspect their discovery, their friendships and loyalties are tested; and they must make haste before they become the hunted along with the treasure.

The story is solid enough, and in truth it was well above my expectations, captivating my interest very early on and remaining suspenseful and intriguing enough throughout the picture. The cast are all good enough, although they were probably chosen as much for their looks as their acting abilities, but who can deny that Jessica Alba and Ashley Scott did add a sexy feel for the male audience, and i guess Paul Walker and Scott Caan did the same for the ladies.

What really made the film for me was the truly fantastic scenery and the underwater camera work; it was flawless and stunningly beautiful in a way that is rarely captured on film, three cheers for the direction and the film crew for that.

7/10

You almost feel like Rodney Dangerfield from Back to School after watching this movie. The film has some neat underwater photography, some good stunts, and even a twist or two. But ultimately, it's just as excuse to show off some young flesh. Is that entirely a bad thing? The Hound thinks not. A good dosage of Jessica Alba flesh can warm you up on the coldest winter day.

Into the Blue is directed by John Stockwell. Yes, the guy who played Cougar in Top Gun. One may dislike the content of the films he's made thus far in his early directing career (Blue Crush, Crazy/Beautiful), but one cannot deny the fact that the man knows how to shoot young women's bodies. Since there are only two female main characters, that means there are also plenty of young men for the women to feast their eyes on. Paul Walker kind of has the Justin Timberlake thing going on. Seeing him and Tyson Beckford really makes me feel out of shape now that the holidays are over.

Oh, the plot! I almost forgot. It's basically a re-hash of The Deep. We have young treasure hunters in the Caribbean who find not only a sunken ship carrying gold, but a recently crashed plane full of cocaine on the ocean floor. Naturally, the drug dealer of record in the area wants the coke for himself, and doesn't want anyone getting in the way by searching for treasure near by. The resulting action has numerous gun battles, shark attacks, kidnappings, and acts of machismo. The film is a little long, but the conclusion is worth sticking around for.

This film is not to be confused with anything up for an Academy Award this year. It was filmed nearly a year and a half before it was released for reasons I would not dare to speculate on. It did make $18 million bucks in the theaters, but any long-lasting success this film has will depend on if any of these stars goes on to have a long career. There is an extraordinary amount of violence and gore for a PG-13 film. An F-bomb or two here and there, would have certainly given it an R. The acting is pretty sparse. The scenes above water look rushed, and possibly printed on the first or second take. The scenes below water are very impressive, however.

The verdict: 5 of 10 stars. This is a popcorn flick with some decent production values, and a hot young cast. Not much else. Too many bad guys, and a plot that doesn't know when to resolve itself. Here's a little game if you get bored with the movie... see if you can hold your breath as long as these people do in some of these scenes. Some of the time it seems like they go several minutes without breathing.

The Hound.

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"!

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!