Into the Blue

Into the Blue
Studio: MGM/Columbia
Rated: PG-13
Website: http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/intotheblue/
Release Date: 2005-09-30
Cast: Paul Walker, Jessica Alba, Scott Caan, Ashley Scott, Josh Brolin
Director: John Stockwell
Screenwriter: Matt Johnson
WorkNameSort: Into the Blue
Our Rating: 2.50

A Gen-Y update of Peter Yates’ 1977 aquatic actioner The Deep, Into the Blue is a paint-by-numbers thriller about a couple of small-time buried-treasure divers (Paul Walker and Jessica Alba) whose romance and friendships (with vacationing buddies Scott Caan and Ashley Scott) are tested when they happen upon both a drug-filled airplane and a gold-stocked pirate ship in the depths of Bahamian water. The requisite breakups, fallings-out and backstabbings ensue, but the interesting psychological greed allegory soon yields to a series of implausible action set pieces. And since we’re not given a decent reason to care whether these sexy, hunky, comfortable 20-somethings get rich, the movie thematically equates to a kind of Treasure of the Sierra Madre without the grim desperation. Still, the stunning aerial and underwater photography ensure that each cliché at least looks good, and as far as disposable popcorn flicks go, you could do a lot worse.

This article appears in Oct 5-11, 2005.