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Jared (Paul Walker), a diving instructor, and Sam (Jessica Alba), a shark handler, live a
romantically idyllic life in the Bahamas. But trouble starts when Bryce (Scott Caan), Jared's best friend lawyer arrives with his 15-hour old girlfriend Amanda (Ashley
Scott) and the foursome accidentally stumble into the legendary ship Zaphyr and a cargo plane with 800 kilos of cocaine.
Attracted by the prospect of uncovering the sunken treasures, they decide to venture into recovering artifacts and perhaps the gold in the ship. But what about the plane and its cargo? Couples Jared and Sam are firm about turning over the plane's location to the authorities while Bryce and Amanda prefer to use the drugs to purchase the necessary equipment for the treasure hunt. Unfortunately, there are other people looking for the plane that no one really knows who they can still trust.
The magnificent underwater photography serves as but a background for this adventure story.
The beauty of the ocean bed can hold your interest, but still you can not forget it's only a movie because of the editing lapses like, for instance, how can the actors hold their breath so long underwater? Do these people have gills or something? Also, what takes months to do—like scraping clean the treasures found on the seabed—here takes but a few seconds. There may be too much skin-baring here, too, for the taste of some, but then, nobody goes scuba-diving in pajamas. To a visual (so to speak) moviegoer expecting action,
Into the Blue
may be just a series of action scenes, with a story that demands little acting talent or plot development. But for a viewer trying to look for a message beyond the sun-tanned, taut bodies,
Into the Blue has something to say that's worth listening to.
Although practically the whole film displays half-naked, young and well-toned bodies,
Into the Blue, far from being a cheap thriller involving mechanical sharks and movie blood, invites the viewer to fathom the depths of conscience, righteousness,
friendship, greed, as principled characters change their minds through the story. In most action films, the characters' identity in their first scene sticks with them to
their last, so that it's easy to predict how they'll deal with challenges. Not so with Into the Blue. What seems to be mere fun-seekers and treasure hunters at the
start blossom into maturity as situations challenge their ethics. The story actually proves that the really dangerous sharks around are the two-legged variety owning and
operating plush boats to plunder the sea—it's a good thing the movie makes these sharks into shark food. While gleaning a positive message in Into the Blue,
CINEMA nonetheless must point out that the movie takes premarital sex for granted, so tell impressionable minds to view it with caution.
(Date Reviewed: 07 October 2005)
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