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a thrill ride

Deep Rising was a thrill ride of a motion picture. It was loaded with action, excitement, cool special effects, and unexpected humor. It was a combination of Die Hard, Alien, and Titanic all rolled together with great results. Sure, it was a little unoriginal, but it was great fun. In closing, I would just like to say it was the most entertaining movie I've seen in a long time.

Wrong leading man

I'm not going to damn this movie for its unoriginality, amongst other things but I have to say how ridiculous Treat Williams look as the action hero. I've seen him in several action movies but somehow, this is something for the likes of Bruce Willis and he looks really uncomfortable with the machine gun in his hand, trying to look like the action hero who saves the day-personified.The supporting cast, however, did look their parts but Famke Janssen comes off just like a female accessory in the movie. There wasn't any chemistry at all between her and Treat Williams and they really look very incompatible together. There was supposed to be this sexual tension between the two of them but it didn't come out at all in the movie - she was too tall for him for one thing. The supporting cast, including Wes Studi, who usually plays the villain, were pretty good. Never mind that they were just a group of burly man with machine guns to play with - they made it look rather cool.I had no problems with the plot of the movie whatsoever. After all, we need no brainers like these once in a while. Too bad the leads weren't too good.

Great monster movie

Deep Rising starts off like a B-grade made-for-video monster movie, but rapidly gains momentum. Its Aliens meets The Poseidon Adventure, and with almost as much thrill as the latter combined. However, the acting is poor and annoying, and the script is full of corny dialogue, but the direction, cinematography, and Jerry Goldsmith's pumping score make this a winner.PLOT: 3 DIRECTION: 8 ACTING: 3 SCRIPT: 3
SPECIAL EFFECTS/MUSIC: 9OVERALL: 7

Perfect amount of self-parody

This isn't a comprehensive view of DR (7 out of 10) but I'd like to comment on one aspect of this very entertaining film.Some films take themselves too seriously. As if they were saying, "Film is the most important expression of art. And this film is very, very important."Others are too tongue-in-cheek. As if they were embarrassed of themselves and don't want to be mistaken for actually trying to be good. I thought DR had a really good balance. They had fun with the genre without making fun of the genre. Got it?I appreciated it. I had some good laughs, some good scares, and a great time. Thanks, guys!

An ocean full of secrets

The ocean... think about the ocean... What is it really? There's more water than everything else in our world. Do you really think we know what's in there... in those deep waters.The director of the excellent "The Mummy" has probably made the most slick and entertaining creature movie this far. "Deep Rising" is so incredibly underrated. I really think this one should be there in the top... together with Carpenters "The Thing" and Camerons "Aliens".I think this special ocean is really frightening. In one scene Famke Janssens character goes out on deck and looks out into the dark night... and in the background we hear the creatures roar. Scenes like that gives me a sense of, something I use to call, a "clear cold". I don't expect you to understand, but I have the same feeling in movies like "Deep Blue Sea" (when Skarsgard is pushed by the shark) and especially in "2001: A Space Odyssey". Even if that movie takes place in space... there's is that feeling of an empty helplessness... a "clear cold" so to say.But don't think "Deep Rising" is like "2001". No... this is a highly effective action/adventure where a great looking and really quick creature appears and gives the hero and his crew a really hard time. Treat Williams is good and the beautiful Famke Janssen does one of her best performances. I really like her character. Everything about this movie is cool and so very entertaining. The ending is really funny and I would love to see a sequel on the new-found island. Great director Sommers went on to make "The Mummy", which sometimes is very similar to this one. He has the touch of style and knows how to entertain an audience. I look forward to "Mummy 2".If you love monster-movies, you have to see this one. I don't think you will be disappointed. Have fun!

This Is No Octopus's Garden In The Shade!!!(And Famke is HOT!!!)

In this movie we learn that nearly the entire passengers on a luxury liner have disppeared. Thankfully Famke Janssen is still alive and she plays con artist and thief named 'Trillion"!!! Perhaps that was how much money she wanted to steal?Then a boat load of looters arrive at the ship and all Hell breaks loose as they try to escape the clutches of what looks like a giant octopus!!! This movie proves yet again that the 1950's "Mutant Monster " movie is alive and well and is a lot of fun to watch. I give this movie 5 stars because I think Famke is so beautiful and she can act too which is a rare talent for a successful ex model tuned actor.

Rising Damp

If you are looking for an action/adventure/horror film that has little sense and lots of special effects and self-effacing humour, then look no farther than Deep Rising. IT is not a great film nor does it ever try to suggest it is anything more than good-natured adventurous fun. And that it is....very entertaining. The story concerns a small boat pilot and his mate as they are hired to bring a group of mercenaries to a cruise liner, only to see that upon arrival it is deserted. What they find in store...is death from a huge sea beast. The rest of the film chronicles the deaths of many with blood-splashing special effects and a generous dose of laughs. In fact, most of the dialogue is said with tongue firmly planted in cheek. Director Sommers does a fine job and shows us here why he was so successful with The Mummy, a film shot in much the same format. Treat Williams and Anthony Heald do very nicely in their roles, but it is Mummy co-star Kevin J. O'Connor that gets most of the laughs and best lines. All in all a good way to pass a little time away.

A good monster movie

I have been a fan of sommers for a long time beginning with the mummy and the mummy returns, I cant wait for Van Helsing. So one day at the video store I saw this and figured I would give it a shot. What can I say I think this movie is amazing. I don't want to spoil it for you but just no that this is better than any B monster movie I have seen before. I hope when Sommers is done with Van Helsing he will do deep rising 2. I cant wait anyway a perfect mix of action and comedy. There is also a good twist at the end but I wont give anything away. I give this movie five out of five. Even up to 2004's standards this movie rocks, with good special effects and cruel death scenes, instead of going to the show to watch Hellboy stay in and watch the much better DEEP RISING (1998).

OVERLOOKED VERY ENTERTAINING MOVIE!

THIS MOVIE WAS GREAT,I GIVE IT 4 STARS FOR A B-MOVIE,IF YOU HAVE TESTOSTERONE FLOWING THROUGH YOUR VEINS,YOU SHOULD LOVE THIS DVD,THE SOUND ON A SURROUND SOUND SYSTEM IS FANTASTIC.TREAT WILLIAMS IS COOL AS WELL,HOPE THEY MAKE A PART 2!

*** out of ****. Surprisingly scary

I liked this movie. The creatures were actually scary (definitely more scary than the bugs in "Mimic"). Stephen Sommers did a good job at creating a scary atmosphere on the ship. These creatures are everywhere, even right behind you in a room, not paying attention to you at all because it's too busy eating someone else (scene from movie of course). That scene was scary, and not in the sense that it makes you jump, but makes you think. "Deep Rising" wasn't as predictable as I thought it would be. It was actually original and creative most of the time. I also kinda liked the characters too. The special-effects were also surprising. They didn't suck. A surprisingly scary and creative movie. ***.

Why CGI must die...

Or at least get a lot better. The ironic thing about special effects these days is that back in the days of stop motion animation nobody was supposed to believe it was real, and yet they all did. Meanwhile, everyone is supposed to believe CGI and nobody does. Especially in movies like this. The squid is ridiculous.Really, though, it's not a bad way to spend a couple hours-won't kill you or anything. But I just wish more CGI people would realize that they're not fooling anybody.

You can tell they had fun making this

Deep Rising is a big dumb B movie that's actually a little smarter than you would expect. It certainly beats the crap out of Independence Day, Underworld, Queen of the Damned and a bunch of other films that aim to be A movies.The cast is rather likable, with often funny dialog, it makes one wish Treat Williams was given better and more frequent roles. I guess he fills the role of a lesser Bruce Campbell.The effects, primarily cgi for the monster(s) are very good for those in a 1997 film that didn't have a massive budget.To summarize, enjoyable as a popcorn flick, superior to many films of similar nature.

This is a good prequel...but to what???

This is a good movie...entertaining and scary.
Its Night and raining...
1. The ocean liner (ARGONAUTICA) created for the pleasurable pursuits, primarily gambling is the target of a South China Sea heist.
2. The "hero" Treat Williams (John Finnegan) charters his boat (an old WWII PT boat) and crew of two (his sidekick mechanic Kevin J. O'Connor as Joey and his sidekick's co-pilot girlfriend Leila), to a group of mercenaries with "no questions asked".
3. The Ocean liner is attacked (losing a small speed boat with the impact) by something that has forcibly stopped and penetrated the vessel. "It" remains unseen as it wreaks havoc and panic...and blood.
4. The charter plan (to rob the ocean liner) is revealed to Treat and his crew as the Mercs bring the PT boat up to war specs with the installation of new torpedo tubes secretly brought aboard in crates.
5. Confrontation between Treat and the Mercs in defense of his crew reveals the cool comic hero status of Treat and his sidekick mechanic.
6. State-of-the-art weaponry (newly designed Chinese-made high-powered mini-gatling guns with 100 round magazines) is distributed among the mercs. (Oh boy! This is gonna be good).
7. Treat's crew is disarmed and intimidated into complicity.
8. The PT Boat runs over the speed boat that fell off the ocean liner and is damaged. Repair is mandated as the adrift ocean liner is spotted.
9. Treat's mechanic can repair the damaged parts of his boat in the ocean liner's machine shop, hence their reason to board the ship with the mercs (unarmed of course!).
10. Hands-up, this is a robbery...hey, where is everyone? What happened here?
11. Let the body count begin...
12. Is anyone here? Are you behind...this hatch!...or this hatch!...or this...arrrggghhh...slurp! Slurp again.

This DVD is a must have. Picture quality is phenomenal. This is surely a candidate for the superbit treatment. You need every "bit" to view the slimy, bloody "it", which is scary and creepy as hell. Those who read this as "B" horror movie should remember that "B" movies are a genre and not a rating. This DVD is an "A".

The character Treat Williams plays (John Finnegan) is colorful, cool and badass enough as to make any plot secondary (just bring on the action and tongue-in-cheek remarks). His mechanic sidekick Kevin J. O'Connor (Joey) plays-off his sardonic remarks with an almost psychotic but sensitive and fearful whine (read - same as his character in The Mummy). Famke Janssen (Trillian) could...well...just stand there, roll her eyes and suck in those dimples and be effective at just about anything. The characters are what remain at the end of the story, a funtioning team that can survive the unsurvivable with controlled fear, coolness and humor. And, before end-credits, they are obviously stranded on a large unchartered island in the midst of another horrific story-arc, so where's the sequel???..."Oh hell, what now!"

Simply Perfect

Deep Rising stands head and shoulders above most movies of this genre. It has the perfect balance of terror, suspense, special effects, music and plot to make it a classic. It also never loses
sight of the fact that it is simply a movie. This is reflected by the tongue in cheek attitude on display at several points of the movie. These instances serve not only as comic relief but also have an endearing quality about them. If you love 50's & 60's monster movies, you can't help but love Deep Rising.

Lightning-paced action/horror thriller.

Treat Williams and company are stuck on board an oceanliner streaming with sea creatures that hunt by sound vibrations. Yes, it's Tremors on water! A deft mixture of action, horror, and comedy, this is ideal B-movie entertainment thanks to some fun performances (Williams and Kevin J. O'Connor) and very good special effects and production values. Like Event Horizon, this one's very underrated.

Music is too cheap to be one of great films

The movie is rather enjoyable in both graphics and sound effect, but the music is so noticeably poor, which make me just to not buy it!

SOMMERS BEST!!

If you want to explain the hellish abomination that was Van Helsing, you need look no further than Deep Rising, the original Sommers blend of horror and flip humour that was the template for The Mummy movies and what was to follow. Deep Rising is where Sommers got his schlocky blend of humour and horror just right-it's fast, funny and completely over the top. Treat Williams is great as the wisecracking hero who confronts a big beasty from the deep on a ocean liner. This probably needed the likes of Harrison Ford to sell it at the time, but Williams has such a twinkle in his eye that it doesn't matter, both he and this gulity pleasure are great fun to watch.

"All I got is a wet stick of chewing gum & a breath mint." Hugely entertaining action horror film.

Deep Rising starts in the middle of the South China Sea as a pilot for hire John Finnegan (Treat Williams), his crew of Joey Pantucci (Kevin J. O'Connor) & his girlfriend Leila (Una Damon) ferries his paying passengers to a location 'in the middle of nowhere' which in reality turns out to be a huge $480 odd million cruise liner called the Argonautica on it's maiden voyage. As they near the Argonautica things turn sour as they hit a speedboat & their passengers turn nasty, lead by mercenary Hanover (Wes Studi) who are about to rob the Argonautica. Leila & one of Hanover's men named Billy (Clint Curtis) stay behind to repair the boat as Finnegan, Joey, Hanover & the rest of his team board the Argonautica & find it completely deserted & in a mess with blood smeared everywhere. Hanover sends two of his men, T-Ray (Trevor Goddard) & Mamooli (Cliff Curtis) with Finnegan & Joey to find spare parts to repair the boat while he & the rest of his team, Vivo (Djimon Hounsou), Mulligan (Jason Flemyng) & Mason (Clifton Powell) try to break into the Argonautica's vaults where they find professional thief Trillian St. James (Famke Janssen) & Vivo is killed by the Argonautica's designer a terrified Simon Canton (Anthony Heald) & Captain Atherton (Derrick O'Connor) who both warn of 'things' that have infested the ship. It's not long before they encounter one of these 'things' which turn out to be slimy snake like sea creatures that have eaten the rest of the passengers & crew, when an elevator they are travelling in sends them to the very bowls of the Argonautica they must work together to battle their way up floor by floor & hopefully back to Finnegans boat & possible safety but no-one said it would be easy...Written & directed by Stephen Sommers I love Deep Rising, I think it's a terrific roller-coaster ride of thrills, spills & chills! The script could easily be described as a cross between Aliens (1986) with a group of heavily armed men running around dark pipe laden corridors, Titanic (1997) being set on a huge ship that is sinking & just about any 50's or 60's giant monster film. There are plenty of guns, explosions, chases including an outrageous sequence which I love when Williams & Janssen are chased by huge slimy tentacles while speeding through the Argonautica's flooded corridors on a jet-ski, huge monsters, overblown special effects, one liners & plenty of blood & gore. Deep Rising is a pure popcorn film not to be taken seriously, it's pure Hollywood entertainment to just sit back with a coke & enjoy one cool set piece after another! The characters are a little clichéd but I didn't mind too much & I felt the film still worked well. The one aspect of Deep Rising I don't like is it's 100 plus minute running time, I think it drags in a couple of places & I'd have preferred a slightly tighter film that maybe ran 10 or so minutes shorter. I still can't quite decide whether I liked the ending or not though. With an estimated budget of $45,000,000 Deep Rising has that Hollywood polish about it, the widescreen cinematography is great, the CGI monsters & effects are great, the interior of the Argonautica is as plush, detailed & luxurious as you would hope for, the production design is fine including some cool looking guns & the music by Jerry Goldsmith ranges from catchy to bland. Deep Rising features some nice gore with a partially digested man with half his head missing a high point, there are plenty of flesh encrusted skeletons & someone gets an axe stuck in his forehead. The monsters themselves are cool & the big one at the end is worth waiting for in my opinion. The acting was OK & not much more but then what did you expect? I found Kevin J. O'Connor as the comedy relief a little annoying at times but he didn't spoil things that much, Williams as the hero is a bit bland but was OK & Janssen as the girl provides the good looks & glamour. Overall I think Deep Rising is a terrific film if you take it for what it is, a pure unashamed crowd pleasing action heavy horror film. A absolute favourite of mine & a bit of a guilty pleasure, I highly recommend Deep Rising but just remember to just go with it & have fun!

one wild ride!

DEEP RISING definitely isn't the greatest action movie ever made, but it sure is fun. It's got an appealing hero in Treat Williams and a feisty female counterpart in the beautiful Famke Janssen. Kevin J. O'Connor supplies the comic relief while never getting on your nerves, and the film constantly keeps you guessing as to whether or not he will survive. The film has a nice Hawksian feel to it, with the scenario of a variety of different characters trapped in a dangerous situation and their snappy dialogue. The ending has sequel written all over it, but due to the film's performance, I doubt we'll ever see one. The effects are bloody but well-done, but your tolerance for them depends on how much you can handle seeing half-decayed, still-live corpses regurgitated by the lethal sea creature. If you can take it in a light-hearted, thrill ride-type way, you should be able to enjoy the film. Only complaint: why do movies always destroy the cool vehicles (in this case Williams's awesome PT boat)?

Brings a whole new meaning to "Getting Axed"

I absolutely love Action God Stephen Sommers' wild little beast of a movie "Deep Rising" with all my heart, because 1) it entertains me monstrously and never fails to get me out of a black depressed funk and 2) it reminds me of all those gorily juicy, full-blooded, red meat horror films they used to make back in the eighties---except this bloody little romp was cranked out in 1998!

That said, get your sea legs, load the double-barrel shotgun, and let's venture into the hold of this derelict. Is "Deep Rising" worth a look? Well let me ask you a few questions:

Do you like the idea of lots of bloodshed, wanton carnage, and wholesale slaughter?

Do you like the prospect of watching the gorgeous (and water-logged) Famke Janssen clamber around a derelict ocean-liner for nearly two hours?

Do you like movies about voracious, wicked sea-beasties that eat first and ask questions later?

Do you like seeing movies in which Evil Cowardly Villains get their just desserts in exactly the fashion they deserve, screaming and mewling in pain and horror?

Have you ever wondered what it's like to buzz around a luxury ocean liner on a ski-doo?

If you answered "yes" to even one of the questions above, then "Deep Rising" is for you. Sommers is the Leonardo da Vinci of the Action Film, and he keeps the pace taut, the dialogue crisp, the blood flowing like cheap Merlot, and the bodycount rising into the double digits! Best of all, you get the sadly underrated Treat Williams as the gruff and mercenary boat-captain-with-a-heart-of-gold (he'd be wearing a fedora and wielding a whip if Sommers thought he could get away with it)
unwittingly transporting a gaggle of terrorists to a cruise-liner for pillage and plunder.

Plot? You want plot? Fine. The terrorists are after loot hidden away on a luxury cruise liner on its maiden voyage, a liner owned by a greedy shipping tycoon played by Anthony Heald. Fun stuff!

A downside to this Pleasure Ship of Death? The CGI graphics, which nearly undo the movie's creepy, ghoulish, uber-gory vibe: the creature itself looks atrocious and has far too much freedom of movement to be truly scary. Sommers should have recognized that with a film of this type, less is more, and stuck with prosthetics.

But I'm quibbling. "Deep Rising" is a perfect little horror flick and just what the doctor ordered if you're in the mood for hungry undersea beasties, gore galore, amoral and greedy villains, and a healthy selection of panicked victims-to-be, to say nothing of the best axe-killing scene this side of "The Shining." Make sure you get a cabin with a picture window and sea-view---Tickets, please.