Action filmmaker Renny Harlin got his big break directing the fourth installment of the Nightmare On Elm Street series. The only major film he had to his credit at that point was a ludicrous action thriller called Born American. Elm Street gave him the push he needed and then he was given the go-ahead on Die Hard 2, which put him in the big time. Aside from the Elm Street and Die Hard sequels, Cliffhanger was his only other major success. The Adventures Of Ford Fairlane and Cutthroat Island fizzled at the box office, and The Long Kiss Goodnight did moderate business. This brings us to Deep Blue Sea, an underwater thriller about genetically altered sharks.

The film is an ensemble featuring: Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Rapaport, Saffron Burrows, Thomas Jane, LL Cool J, Jacqueline McKenzie, and Stellan Skarsgaard. Most of the performances, Jackson included, are mediocre at best and the as usual in a Harlin film, the dialogue is atrocious. Even the special effects lack punch. The rubber sharks look phony and the computer generated sharks look too cartoonish.

The big surprise is that I still enjoyed Deep Blue Sea. Harlin, more than ever, shows his extraordinary technical skills in making a thriller that has a great sense of timing, beautiful production values, and some truly terrifying moments (including one that you will not expect).

This film is reminiscent of other better movies like Jaws, Alien, The Abyss, and Jurassic Park; however, it is what it is--a brisk, exciting action movie. Also, the camp value in this film works much better than it did in Lake Placid. Perhaps thatÕs because Placid tried so hard to be funny, whereas Deep Blue Sea plays it straight.

One can only hope that Harlin will someday combine good action with a good screenplay, and learn how to work with actors better. For now, he's got execution down and with Deep Blue Sea, that's enough to keep it alive.