Deep Blue Sea 3 (2020)

Rating: ⭐½  

Was there ever a Deep Blue Sea 2? Don't worry, watching Deep Blue Sea or Deep Blue Sea 2 prior to this movie is not necessary as this film has nothing to do with them. It is obviously exploiting the success of the original Deep Blue Sea and the only common factor here is that both films features killer sharks. Ever since Jaws, these killer sharks movies have been churned out regularly every year. I have to admit that I am a fan and my appetite has been often well rewarded by some decent efforts. Sadly this is not the case for Deep Blue Sea 3.

A good shark movie for me, needs to have a premise that is reasonably logical so that the threat and situation becomes more believable and hence, scarier. It also should have likeable characters for you to root for and cool underwater shots. Deep Blue Sea 3 has a bunch of genetically mutated killer bull sharks terrorising a team of marine biologists on a small island. We have a bunch of cardboard characters compromising of the good guys (marine biologists) and the bad guys (scientific team hunting the bull sharks). All these are just here for one reason .. to provide the body counts as the killer sharks attack. Thrown in is a bit of unconvincing romance between the two leads that never quite takes off, and some laughable brawls between the conflicting teams amidst the mayhem caused by the sharks. The kills are atrociously executed and done just for shock value, and none of the characters are interesting enough to warrant any sympathy from the viewers. The final "survivors" list felt manipulative and like a sexist statement.

As a comparison, last year's 47 Meters Down: Uncaged was a far better made movie which felts like a 90 minutes thrill ride. That had a simpler premise and a much smaller cast which goes to show bigger and more complicated is not always better. Deep Blue Sea 3 falls more in the category of Sharknado but without the laughs.