Into The Blue

Stars : Jessica Alba, Paul Walker, Scott Caan, Ashley Scott, Josh Brolin

Directed By: John Stockwell
Released by: MGM, United Artists

Commendations must go to MGM, and to director Paul Rockwell. They successfully spent $50 million on a two hour Coke commercial. Tanned bodies, stunning locations, jetskis, sunshine, crystal clear waters, they met all the criteria. The only problem was, they were trying to make a movie. Judging by the general jist of what was a pretty weak storyline, this was an attempt to create a James Bond for today's generation. It falied miserably in this regard, but still manages to entertain, just as a glorified commercial. This movie is so shallow it makes Legally Blonde look like Schindler's List. The characters are wafer thin, and are never really developed beyond the point of knowing their names, financial situations, and body measurements. Just about every inch of Jessica Alba's body is filmed in close up at some point during the film, often for no good reason other than to allow a teenage male audience to ogle. Paul Walker is given the same treatment, so that the ladies in the audience don't feel left out. Fake tan stocks must have skyrocketed during filming, the charcters look like they have a skin disease they're so dark. And yet, for all the dialogue that makes you cringe, for all the times you might look at your watch in the cinema, it's hard to actually completely hate this movie.

In a nutshell, Into The Blue tells the story of a young couple, Jared (Walker) and Sam (Alba), who live a poor but deliriously happy existence in the Bahamas. He works as a diving instructor for rich tourists, she works on the seal show at the local Sheraton. But, Jared has a dream. He's a treasure hunter, scouring the ocean floor for long lost riches from ships wrecked on the treacherous reefs years ago. He promises Sam, and himself that he'll make that big find, and they won't have to live in a trailer anymore. As Jared so eloquently puts it, he wants to find "Da mother load o' mother loads!". As we join the story, Jared's best buddy Bryce (Caan), and companion Amanda (Scott), have arrived to spend the weekend. Both of them seemingly have a combined IQ of 6, and they only met about 12 hours ago, but this doesn't stop Jared or Sam from joining them in a criminal's confiscated mansion for the weekend, a shady deal obtained by Bryce who defends drug dealers for a living. Besides, in more immortal dialogue, Amanda summaries the situation "this is one hot place, and we are two hot women!". To cut a long story short, and not ruin the few surprises this movie holds, the quartet find some treasure, and a submerged plane, which just happens to be full of drugs. The group very quickly get in over their heads with criminals and drug dealers, alot of people seem to die needlessly, Jared and Sam break up and get back together, and the rest is so predictable you'll find yourself knowing what the characters will say before they deliver the dialogue.

That said, the locations really are quite stunning, and if the story just gets too much for you, it's always possible to gaze over the shoulder of one of the actors and soak up the view. From beautiful beaches to crystal clear aqua waters, you do find yourself mesmerised by the beauty of the Bahamas. But this isn't a documentary, and it's not a commercial, it's supposed to be a thriller/ action film, and in that regard it fails. Ultimately, Into the Blue won't be the worst film you'll see this year, and to be fair it's not trying to be anything too fancy, but its abysmal US Box Office performance shows that fans just don't warm to this one. I can't say I really did either.


out of ten

Reviewed by Nick Bailey

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