Deep Rising


captain: "We are in a very dangerous situation here!  We are running without radar or any form of imaging; we are sailing blind.  No bloody way to communicate our situation."
sonar man: "I have something here, sir."
captain: "What is it?"
sonar man: "I don't know, sir, but whatever it is, it's, uh, big."
Canton: "Probably just a pod of whales."
sonar man: "Moving at 31 knots, sir? I don't think so."
Canton: "Where's it coming from?"
sonar man: "Directly beneath us, sir."


release year: 1998
genre: horror/action
viewing setting: home Bluray 11/29/20 and home DVD 12/27/15 and 4/5/13 and 8/6/05 and home laserdisc 12/9/98 and theater 2/1/98

synopsis: The Argonautica, the richest luxury liner in the world, is sailing out in the middle of nowhere, targeted by a group of paramilitary thieves. However, an unknown throws itself into the mix: a weird, hungry squid-like creature from the ocean depths.

impressions: Well-done and entertaining monster movie that pokes a little fun at itself. We get a monster (or monsters - it's hard to tell) that's bigger and meaner than life, super-macho mercenaries with powerful guns, and a variety of characters with different movitations. There are also plenty of one-liners and humorous situations, plus some twists. All in all, it's highly entertaining, which is all you can ask from a movie with a monster.

trivia: The monster may be some strange offshoot of Archaea ottoia which may be a giant squid.

things to watch for: When the surviving characters find the remains of all the passengers who didn't make it.

something this movie has that no other movie has: A cruise ship that can be completely crippled by changing out three DVDs.

acting: Treat Williams does a great job here, walking the line between serious man of action and not taking himself seriously. Famke Janssen is the female lead, and works well with Williams. Kevin J. O'Connor, who played an annoying whiner in The Mummy a year after this, is actually more annoying here. Trevor Goddard, who played Kano in Mortal Kombat, is a mercenary with an accent here. Wes Studi is the leader of the mercenaries.

final word: Well-done monster-stalks-victims movie.

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