Well the following Merry Man sent in his review of DEEP RISING that film starring TREAT WILLIAMS!!!!!!!! (ho hum, awww heck I'll give it a chance) Good work you Merry Man dude, hope to hear from you again!!!
Saw a preview screening of DEEP RISING last night, deep in Bruin country (i.e. Westwood). It was the first preview I attented in a while (the last one I successfully saw was EVENT HORIZON...got kicked out of the line of THE TRUMAN SHOW...grrr!) so I thought I'd share my opinions for what they're worth. I know. Not much. Thanks though.
Lemme set this up for you a little bit... I had had a horrible day. My head was pounding with a headache that seemed to be aggravated by the two Aleve I took. I almost didn't bother to se the screening...but then that green ticket smiled at me...you know the feeling...they look so cute in those darn colors and with that air of secrecy...that's how thy get you every time... but I digress.
I followed the calling of the green ticket into Bruin country, where a lot of Bears in all BearGear were already standing in line. The poster for DEEP RISING had been put up on an easel...good looking art I thought...until I read the "log line": FULL SCREAM AHEAD. After convulsing heavily and being frowned at by one of the herders, I whispered sweetly to myself and recovered.
By the time I had entered the theater, popcorn, soft drink and sourpatch kids in my greedy hands, the headchae was gone, the excitement was up. I thought of my green ticket...it had been taken from me while standing in line.
When the movie started, the two thing that struck me immediatly: One, I was watching a finished print / hype screening. No announcements, no cards to fill out. Two, Jerry Goldsmith needs to go for his career checkup. From the very first note I heard, I prayed that I was listing to a temp track...aggravating, overbearing, trite and derivative are some of the words that come to mind. The entire time I thought I had Jerry himself standing next to me, screaming in my ear : GREAT! EXCITING! LOOK! WOW! Very tiring...
But on to the actual film.
The Plot: Absolutely idiotic in a very entertaining way. A group of mercenary thieves have hired Treat Williams and his crew of two to take them to an undisclosed location in the South China Sea. The location turns out to be The Most Extravagant Luxury Liner ever conceived, which the thieves are planning to take over with a little inside help. However, by the time the thieves get there most people on the boat have disappeared...blood stains are found....strange noises can be heard...something is on the ship.... could it be... yes...CGI !
The Dialogue: Worth mentioning. The "greasemonkey" character got a lot of laughs, as did the gorgeous Famke Jannsen. The dialogue was actually what gave the movie a very refreshing sense of "Hey, we know this isn't Birth Of A Nation, so we're gonna make this fun".
The Cast : Excellent. I remember Treat Williams fondly from DEAD HEAT...here he plays a believable toughguy/straight man. Famke Jannsen, a professional thieve stuck on the vessel, was great. I just wish wardrobe hadn't picked the outfits they picked...that red dress couldn't be any less favorable. Wes Studi, leader of the mercenaries, has a VERY memorable scene towards the end of the movie...you'll know it when you see it. The "bad guy" (won't spoil this for you) is alright...The weakest link I thought. The rest of the cast did a good job at trying to be more than cannon/ CGI fodder.
The Creatures: Well, Rob Bottin. Need I say more? Of course I do. The creatures seemed very tacky at first, but they grew on me. Especially the way they move is awesome to watch... the sounds they make are not a pretty thing. Quality-wise I would compare them to the STARSHIP TROOPERS creatures... tres cool if you're into CGI. If you're not into CGI...well, you won't like them anyway, so why are you wasting your time? By the way...why those creatures are there is never really explained... I guess they just felt like Luxury Liner that night....Mmmmm...Take Out!
Overall Impression: Knowing full well that I won't be the most popular guy on AICN, I'll say this: I enjoyed this movie more than TITANIC. Now, before you drill me several new bodily cavities, lemme explain this.
TITANIC was in my opinion an OK movie. But it was so shamelessly self-glorifying and (in my opinion) overlong and trite that I found myself bored rather than enthralled. All I could think of was...Look! CGI Dolphins. Why are they there? Oh. It's a symbol. To the tune of about 1 million dollars. Did we need to see them? Did they add anything? No. Except cost. Then CUT THEM OUT and don't spend enough money on a movie to save a small country. Anyway, I though TITANIC was okay, but it left me feeling drained and rather frustarted.
DEEP RISING on the other hand, although by no means a great movie, kept me entertained, laughing and left me leaving the theater utterly satisfied with my viewing experience. Fast moving, funny dialogue, not taking itself very seriously yet creating enough jump scares to keep the audience on their toes. I wanted to be taken away and entertained. And that's exactly what the movie did. Mission accomplished.
I give DEEP RISING a BIG THUMBS UP for taking me away when I really needed it.
