5.8 | / 10 |
Users | 3.5 | |
Reviewer | 2.0 | |
Overall | 3.1 |
A professional diver tutor Brady returns to deep waters after nine years following an almost fatal encounter with a great white shark, bringing a happy couple Kate and Jeff. However, before they know it they discover that the nightmare from the deep is still lurking in the deep, more carnivorous and hungry than ever.
Starring: Halle Berry, Olivier Martinez, Ralph Brown (I), Sizwe Msutu, Mark ElderkinThriller | 100% |
Horror | 18% |
Action | 15% |
Drama | Insignificant |
Adventure | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English, English SDH, Spanish
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (locked)
Movie | 1.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 0.5 | |
Overall | 2.0 |
A cynic might argue that Halle Berry was simply picking up what was probably a hefty paycheck with her appearance in Dark Tide. A real curmudgeon might argue that not only was she picking up a paycheck, she was also getting a nice vacation in South Africa, lounging about on yachts and catching a few rays in between undemanding takes of what is certainly one of the oddest, and quite possibly one of the worst, films in the Oscar winner’s surprisingly spotty career. Berry has never shied away from mainstream offerings (X-Men, anyone?) even as she’s plied her ambitions as a Serious Actress (Monster’s Ball, anyone?), but she’s also appeared in some pretty relentlessly stupid offerings (Catwoman and Gothika, anyone?), indicating either a serious lack in judgment or perhaps more charitably a compulsion to keep on working, no matter what that employment entails. In the case of Dark Tide, employment entails a patent bait and switch tactic that promises something akin to Jaws: The Reckoning and instead plops its characters down into a turgid interpersonal melodrama that Doulas Sirk might have filmed had had been more prone to taking to the seas than dealing with glamorous denizens of a burgeoning suburbia. Dark Tide is a mess of a film. It’s a really pretty mess at times, with gorgeous location photography and the always charismatic Berry (who once again proves she’s a Serious Actress who looks smokin’ hot in a bikini), but the movie is a stale rehash of clichés that never even totally capitalizes on what could have been a surefire crowd pleaser: that ever popular threat of being eaten alive by an attacking shark.
Dark Tide is presented on Blu-ray by Lionsgate Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.35:1. For such an interminably stupid film, Dark Tide looks pretty darned fantastic for the most part, and taking a couple of important facets into consideration. The location photography in and around South Africa is just stupendously beautiful at times, with gorgeous rose hued horizons and lovely teal green water. Depth of field in the wide exterior shots (and virtually all of this film takes place outdoors) is awesome. Fine detail is also quite pleasing and the film boasts a naturally cinematic look. The film is intentionally dark in several key sequences, including some rather murky underwater segments. The underwater photography, while incredibly effective most of the time, obviously has the appearance of softness due to the filming conditions, and shadow detail is negligible throughout these sequences, once again probably quite intentionally. But overall this is an excellently sharp and well defined high definition presentation that at least partially helps to make up for the actual film's many shortcomings.
Dark Tide boasts a very effective lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround mix. The film benefits from some very smart and well placed directionality with regard to sound effects, including some jolt inducing LFE when sharks suddenly zoom in from nowhere. The underwater sequences have a sort of cliché ridden waterlogged sound added to them, but there's a looming sense of immersion (no pun intended) that helps generate a fair amount of tension and even claustrophobia throughout these segments. The big set piece that caps the film is a whirlwind (literally) of sonic activity, with some nice use of discrete channelization and once again really good immersive qualities. Fidelity is excellent throughout this track and dynamic range is also superb.
Trailer (HD; 1:50)
Halle Berry just kind of coasts through this exceptionally turgid film, one which rather incomprehensibly eschews the typical elements of a shark based thriller and instead gets bogged down in talk, talk, talk about relationships, regrets and healing. No wonder these sharks are so intent on killing several of these characters—it may well be the only way to get them to shut the heck up. There's a reason this film was never screened for critics before its mercifully short theatrical exhibition and why in fact it was so quickly dumped into the home video marketplace. The good news, if indeed there is any, is that this Blu-ray boasts really superior video and audio quality, but the fact is it's all for naught. This is one film that deserves to sink to the bottom of the sea and never be heard from again.
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