Deep Water – Movie Review (3/5)

DEEP WATER is a shark survival thriller combined with a plane crash disaster movie. It has a wild first act before becoming more predictable as the shark story begins. The ending is very predictable and over the top, but it has some surprises along the way. And it comes from Deep Blue Sea director Renny Harlin. Read our full Deep Water movie review here!

DEEP WATER is a genre and plot hybrid movie. With its initial plane crash disaster, you’ll get the creative horror of the Final Destination movies. I absolutely loved this first act of the movie, and it’s a good half hour before we get to the next part: A shark thriller about surviving first a plane crash, then shark-infested waters.

Sound familiar? Well, that’s probably because it’s something we’ve seen in other shark survival movies. Most recently, I saw a very similar setting in the shark movie No Way Up. The runtime of 1 hour and 46 minutes may sound long, but with the first half hour focusing on the plane ride and the following crash, it works surprisingly well.

For the record, this (obviously) has nothing to do with the 2022 thriller Deep Water starring Ben Affleck and Ana de Armas

Continue reading our Deep Water movie review below. Find it out on VOD now.

From the ashes into the fire

Yeah, I know, it’s a very overused analogy, but when you survive a plane crash only to land in shark-infested waters, surely it’s an appropriate one. Personally, I love that we get to know a few of the characters as they arrive at the airport. If we didn’t, then it wouldn’t hit as hard when many of them die in the crash.

And the visual and special effects of the Dead Water plane crash are spectacular. Like the best Final Destination scenes, things just keep getting worse in every way possible. Brilliantly shot, but also levels the following shark story can’t quite reach.

We’re on a flight from Los Angeles to Shanghai, so all the people boarding know that they’re in for a long trip. And yes, you will meet someone early on that you spend the movie wishing would die. Don’t worry, this movie gives him exactly what he deserves… though it could have happened sooner.

Somewhat stereotypical characters, but a great cast

If you’ve made it this far into our Deep Water movie review, I imagine you already know that you’ll have to accept some stereotypical moments. And yes, those go for both the characters themselves and their actions and dialogue. Fortunately, we have a great cast for this movie. This ensures that it works much better than it otherwise would.

In the lead role, we have Aaron Eckhart (The Dark Knight) as Ben. He’s a pilot who keeps taking new jobs to avoid going home, where his little boy is very sick. Yeah, he’s not winning any father or husband of the year awards. And, of course, you already know what his character arc will be in Deep Water.

Aaron Eckhart sells the character well, but I wasn’t a fan of him. The character, I mean.

Also in the cast are Angus Sampson (the Insidious movies, The Lincoln Lawyer series), Richard Crouchley (Evil Dead Rise), Lucy Barrett (Sissy), and Oscar-winner Ben Kingsley (The Thursday Murder Club).

Watch the shark thriller Deep Water on VOD now

Renny Harlin is the director of Deep Water, and he does seem like a fairly obvious choice for this genre hybrid with a post that looks like Jaws, but with a plane instead of a young lady swimming. Previously, Renny Harlin directed the 1999 shark movie Deep Blue Sea.

Personally, I love his work much more in The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996). Of course, that has much more to do with Geena Davis and Samuel L. Jackson, but the movie is still incredibly well-made. In any case, we’ve watched more of Renny Harlin’s work recently, as he directed the new The Strangers trilogy.

Nothing that comes close to his work around the turn of the century, but Deep Water did remind me more of that. The screenplay for this 2026 shark disaster movie comes from… well, a lot of writers. The story came from S.P. Krause and Shayne Armstrong, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Pete Bridges and Damien Power. More were involved for Chinese dialogue.

Those final moments of Deep Water do nothing good for it overall. Instead, it’s all the typical “big man saves the day” actions and one-liners. However, if you can look past that (and accept that these sharks are obviously starving), then it’s solid entertainment for a nice movie night at home.

Deep Water (2026) is out on VOD on June 16, 2026.