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Review by: Jack Foley | Rating:
Two
PAUL Walker’s latest all-action adventure is the sort of
movie best labelled ‘so dumb it’s fun’ given
that it somehow remains a guilty pleasure in spite of its skimpy
assets.
Director, John Stockwell, seems to pull out all the stops to
ensure that Into The Blue is easier on the eye than the brain,
filling the screen with lush underwater shots of the Bahamas and
its sea-life, as well as enough tanned bodies to fill up a beach.
Walker and co-star Jessica Alba play love-struck but penniless
diving enthusiasts Jared and Sam, who dream of discovering the
one big shipwreck that might set them up for life.
That dream turns into a nightmare, however, following the arrival
of Jared’s brother, Bryce (Scott Caan), his new girlfriend,
Amanda (Ashley Scott) and the chance discovery of a crashed plane
full of drugs.
For while the plane places an obvious temptation in their path,
it also just happens to be near the site of an age-old pirate
ship, the wreckage of which became visible after a recent hurricane.
It’s not long, therefore, before Walker and co find themselves
bickering amongst each other, while fending off the unwanted attentions
of the island’s corrupt police force and its drug-dealing
co-inhabitants.
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Into The Blue is a bit of a shipwreck
of a movie itself, given its frequent lapses of logic, blatant
disregard for reality, overlong running time and uneven tone.
Yet it remains enjoyable largely because of Stockwell’s
easygoing directorial style that seems content to play up the
eye-candy and play down the shortcomings of the plot.
The film begins particularly brightly, taking its time to establish
the scenario while treating viewers to innumerable shots of Alba
and Scott in bikinis, Walker and Caan half-naked and several National
Geographic-style underwater sequences.
Indeed, it seems to be having so much fun that it almost forgets
about the intrigue entirely until about the halfway point, when
double-crosses and betrayals start to take over.
The film then becomes a little bogged down before changing pace
completely for the violent conclusion, in which Jared and Bryce
take on the drug dealers and things start to get bloody.
At nearly two hours, Into The Blue does feel its length and
frequently finds itself out of its depth in terms of coherence.
The good-looking cast also struggle to convince when it comes
to the more heavyweight material.
But for those willing to put their brains in neutral and dive
into the fun there is plenty to enjoy in spite of the shortcomings,
making Into The Blue a shallow, yet curiously enjoyable experience.
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