Deep Water (2026) Review

Renny Harlin is back! After the disastrous Strangers requel trilogy that had us all asking “Why are you doing this to us?”, the famously hit-and-miss director has returned to his glorious best with Deep Water.

Any good shark film fan will tell you that Deep Blue Sea is the second best of its kind after Jaws, despite the glaring difference in tone, premise and sophistication between the two, and its embodiment of the bright, flashy disaster epic that defined late ‘90s cinema makes it a fondly nostalgic watch. In a world where many movies look dark and drab, and seem obsessed with being too smart for their own audiences, what a blessed relief it is to have someone like Harlin take us on a fun, colorful, adrenaline-fuelled jaunt back to a simpler time. Deep Water could be seen as a spiritual sibling to Deep Blue Sea, and throws out a few loving references for those who know where to look. For the Black Sunday Film Festival’s Midsummer Scream, it was the perfect opener.

Aaron Eckhart and Ben Kingsley are pilots taking a passenger plane from China to the US, and due to a delightfully goofy setup involving a faulty phone charger, a fire in the cargo hold sees the plane go down on the open water, where hungry sharks with a sense of dramatic timing lurk. If this premise sounds familiar then it’s because it is basically identical to that of No Way Up from a couple of years back, which somehow made a fun and exciting idea quite boring and unengaging. Harlin is the man to swoop in and do it justice. He keeps a nicely balanced pace, only slowing down at the parts that the audience can get more enjoyment out of. The plane crash sequence is an impressive set piece that lacks the usual phony screen screams and displays of machismo. Here, people are truly terrified, staring death in the face, and the tension of the explosion, gradual deterioration of the plane, and inevitable crash landing plays out in what feels almost like real time. It leans heavily into the chaos and animalistic fear of such an ordeal, making for a truly thrilling sequence. When the taglines talk about surviving the crash being just the beginning, they really aren’t kidding.

The wide scale of the wreckage sees a considerable ensemble scattered around, split into little groups experiencing their own dangers and races against time. For a shark movie, Deep Water really holds its own even without its toothy co-stars, but I am pleased to report that Harlin does not disappoint in terms of shark action. The last few shark movies I’ve seen have been sorely skimpy in terms of actual sharkiness, but here we get plenty of the good stuff. Although nothing will ever measure up to Samuel L. Jackson’s infamous jump scare death in Deep Blue Sea, Deep Water is eager to give you all the popcorn entertainment you expect from its setup.

It’s a sizable cast, one that manages not to feel too bloated or confusing in its narrative threads. Among the secondary characters is a grandmother hoping to get home to her family, a couple of Chinese athletes teasing a possible romantic connection, and a pair of young stepsiblings whose horny parents end up paying for their mile-high club membership with their lives. The performances from child actors Molly Belle Wright and Elijah Tamati are particularly impressive, conveying a real sense of fear and helplessness among all the carnage. But what really elevates Deep Water among every other dime-a-dozen shark movie of the last decade or two is its ‘90s kid spirit. It’s a bold looking movie, full of those contrasting colours and excitingly crafted shots you remember from the best Harlin and Roland Emmerich movies. It’s beautifully lit with bright greens, blues and oranges, edited with a high-octane approach, and paced to perfection.

In classic ‘90s fashion, it has little bursts of overt sentimentality accompanied by somewhat saccharine musical flourishes, but my God, does this movie take me back to the good old days. It’s not here to sneer at you for enjoying it, or to act deeper or more sophisticated than it is. It feels like recognition of a need for true entertainment that gets in, gives you a hell of a fun time, and goes on its merry way without needing to prove anything or have some wider impact. This is pure Harlin, and I couldn’t be more thrilled to see it.

Movie Rating:

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