Column: ‘Dark Tide’ an ocean of pain
Beauty can be dangerous, and danger can be beautiful.
“Dark Tide” is not a movie for people with a fear of sharks, or those who can’t stand bloody water or sharks eating various creatures. If you fit in these categories, you probably shouldn’t see this movie.
On the other hand, if you’re fascinated with sharks, definitely see this movie.
The face to face scenes with the sharks were ominous and tense, and they provided wonderful photo opportunities, but too much of the movie was underwater, where it is difficult to develop characters and move the story along.
Kate (Halle Berry) is a shark expert with a gift of understanding the psychology of sharks to the point where she can swim outside of a cage.
With her tight-knit team, videographer and husband Jeff (Olivier Martinez), fellow diver Themba (Sizwe Msutu), and pilot Tommy (Mark Elderkin), she creates movies and documentaries to make a living.
While filming an excursion off the coast of South Africa, Themba, the eyes in the back of Kate’s head, is killed in a tragic accident by a shark. The team breaks up, and one year later, Kate can hardly stand hearing news about shark attacks.
She gives seal tours to any interested party, which isn’t much, since all the tourists are interested in sharks, so her business suffers. Jeff comes to her with a proposal from a wealthy father, Brady (Roger Brown).
Brady offers Kate a large amount of money to take him and his son Luke (Luke Tyler) on a journey of a lifetime: the chance to show courage and swim with sharks outside the cage.
Reluctantly, and with some persuasion from Jeff, Kate takes the offer, under the condition that Kate will make the call whether or not Brady and Luke will exit the cage.
During the search for sharks, Jeff tries to patch his relationship with Kate. After an argument ensues, and frustrated with the lack of progress, Kate loses her cool and heads straight for Shark Alley, where the biggest, baddest sharks live.
From here, things get exciting, but I won’t spoil it for you.
My favorite shot in the film had seals swimming above thick seaweed, with enough space to clearly see a diver in the middle of the motion. It was beautiful.
About halfway through the movie, I thought the film was going to end quickly. I was caught off guard when the final expedition took much longer than I thought it would. Fortunately it wasn’t too boring, but the weakness in the middle of the story didn’t link the beginning and end as well as it could have.
Since I did watch “Dark Tide” on my computer, the magic of the theater and intensity of the film may have been somewhat diminished.
Regardless, the movie wasn’t captivating and didn’t have the best resolution, so you may enjoy renting it down the road rather than rushing out to the theater.
Director John Stockwell, known for acting in “Top Gun” and directing “Blue Crush” and “Into the Blue,” returns once again to the water for “Dark Tide.” He seems to have a similar style between his movies, but he can’t seem to produce any blockbusters that have a lasting impact, and unfortunately this film fits right in with his previous works.
Berry is famous for her role as Storm in the X-Men movies, and as Jinx Johnson in “Die Another Day.” For someone with such an acting resume, she did a good job playing a believable normal person. I sincerely believed she could be a real shark diver.
Martinez is more subdued and less arrogant here than in previous jobs, especially “S.W.A.T.” I liked his position as a film artist. He gave an interesting perspective on what it means to be a photographer.
The music, composed by Mark Sayfritz, was more ambient than anything else. There were only a few rare moments when the music was replaced with traditional African songs. I wasn’t impressed.
“Dark Tide” won’t be released in theaters until March 30, but with the power of iTunes’ Advance Screening, I watched it two weeks before its release date.
Advance Screening allows people to see a pre-theatrical release movie for only a couple dollars more than the price of a movie ticket.
There are a few other advantages to this option. The movie can be watched as many times as you want in a 24-hour period, like a normal iTunes rental. It also allows for flexibility in when you want to watch it initially.
If you have a home theater, the experience can be better than a movie theater. You can sit more comfortably on a couch cuddling with your significant other than on the stiff seats of movie theaters.
Unfortunately there’s not much of a selection of movies yet, but that will probably change in the next few years. Also, if you only have a computer to watch the movie on, it won’t provide as fantastic an experience a normal movie theater could provide.
You may skip “Dark Tide,” but you may want to try Advance Screening sometime.
– Spencer Palmer is a graduate student working toward an MBA with a recent bachelor’s in mechanical engineering. He enjoys watching all sorts of movies. Email him at spencer.palmer@aggiemail.usu.edu