Into the Blue

Into The Blue is one of those films where you can easily see that they are intending to attract their viewers by including very attractive actors and actresses. My guess is that putting "beautiful people" into all of the main roles, was an attempt to hide that the film really didn't have all that much more going for it. So, if you like the main characters physically, you may end up enjoying the movie a whole lot more than I did. I did watch it with someone who really likes one of the main actors though, and even she wanted back the two hours that we had wasted watching this movie. In the end, when you have finished watching a film like this, you end up quite disappointed that you had been convinced through trailers that the film would be more than it boiled down to. My only excuse for giving this film a chance were the previews, because if you have seen one Paul Walker film, then you have pretty much seen them all. Expecting him to move away from the wooden characters that he has had in many other films was something that I really should not have convinced myself of.

As I alluded to, Paul Walker is in one of the two lead roles of the film. You have probably seen him in his Fast and Furious films, or as a quarterback in the MTV Film Varsity Blues. He was all right in those roles, and I am guessing they thought he would be perfect for the lead in this one too, because it needed someone who loved just living on the beach. Living on a boat is a more specific way to describe what his character does in between searching for sunken treasure in the crystal clear waters of the Bahamas. His partner in crime (I call it crime because they stole the money of viewers) in this film is the female eye candy of Jessica Alba. She is his significant other in the film, and isn't given a character with all that much intelligence either. I should point out that you do get to see both of the leads in their bathing suits (or bikinis) for nearly the entire film, so if that is what you need to watch the film, then it is there for. You won't want to commit yourself to liking the story though, because there are too many plot holes to list in a single review. Let's just say that the plot unravels so many times, and tried to remain exciting so often, that the believability falls away in order to give you more "shock value".

Neither character has been very successful in their current jobs, so they seem to only scrape by on their jobs working with tourists in the area. They do have a love for the water though, and because they have each other, they don't seem too interested in "selling out" to make money. When is friend (played by Scott Caan) shows up on the scene, he brings with him a boat that will help all of the characters do some treasure searching in the blue waters. He brings with him the 4th piece of eye candy in the form of Ashley Scott. So, you now have 4 model actors wandering around, and for good measure Tyson Beckford is thrown into the mix later on in the film. The 4 happen across a plane that has gone down in a resent Hurricane and discover something that will take them on a wild ride for the rest of the film. Inside that downed plane is a huge supply of cocaine that would be worth a fortune. The characters are torn between doing the "right thing" and turning it over to the authorities, or to find a way to make their own personal profit off of the salvage. The decisions they make from this point on sets in motion a chain of events that actually allows a little bit of action to enter into the film. This is where the sleep-fest of the first 45 minutes turns into a groan-fest for the remainder.

Into The Blue is a beautifully shot film that shows off everything that the Bahamas have to offer. This includes the island life, as well as all of the fish and coral life on the bottom of the sea. It is well shot, and the underwater shots are straight out of a promotional video trying to sell vacations to the area. That is a good reason to watch the film, if you are interested in seeing a lot of the creatures of the deep. The reasons for me recommending this film end right there though. Walker and Caan were both more interesting in their roles as football players in Varsity Blues, which is a film far better than this one. The story here is not only too hard to believe, but the way that it is carried out makes it far worse. The writing of the characters, and the backgrounds that each of them are given just doesn't ring true, and when the movie comes to an end you really feel like you were conned into giving the film a chance. The DVD throws in a bunch of extra features that include screen tests of the actors, and deleted scenes that make you wonder why others weren't deleted. With Into The Blue, you have a lot of eye candy with Paul Walker having no shirt on, and Jessica Alba constantly in a little bikini, but even that could put you to sleep here. I say stay away from this film, and don't even waste a free rental on it.