Movie Review: ‘Deep Water’ is this generation’s Jaws

Deep Water (2026) opens with the quiet routine of an international flight before plunging—quite literally—into chaos when a catastrophic failure forces the wreckage into the open ocean. What follows is a tense, contained survival story as passengers and crew struggle to stay alive in the debris, half-submerged and slowly sinking. With rescue uncertain and the vastness of the sea pressing in on all sides, the film builds its suspense from isolation, dwindling characters, and the ever-present threat lurking beneath the surface. It’s a premise that feels both familiar and freshly executed. It’s this generation’s Jaws (1975) and they deserve a little treat.

The underlying conflict in Deep Water isn’t just survival against the elements, but the clash of personalities under extreme pressure: who takes charge, who panics, and who makes sacrifices. Ben Kingsley and Aaron Eckhart bring gravitas and urgency to the unfolding disaster as Captain and First Officer, respectively. Eckhart plays a grieving and reluctant but capable co-pilot thrust into leadership, his performance grounded in physicality and quiet determination, while Kingsley delivers a more measured, introspective presence. His character is someone grappling with fear while trying to impose order on chaos with not a little bit of irritation at having to follow every single regulation. The interplay of the survivors, including a little girl (Molly Belle Wright) separated from her blended family, two opposing E-Sports teams, flight attendants, a grandmother, and a writer, gives the film emotional weight, ensuring the stakes feel personal rather than purely situational. The audience is given lots of choices of who to despise at any given moment to release some of that bubbling anxiety. If there was an Oscar category for “Best Supporting Actor Playing A Character For Whom No One Would Shed A Tear Upon Grievous and or Fatal Mishap”, it would go to Angus Sampson. His portrayal of an entitled American will incite in even the most gracious and benevolent audience member an emotion I like to call “malicious anticipation.”

And there are sharks. Never mind your lumbering single great white (sorry, Bruce). These are Mako sharks. They are fast, they are smart, and they are relentless. They’re not pack hunters unless 175 souls go down in the middle of the ocean. Then it’s Social Hour. Bring a friend and a napkin. There’s a caution to those squeamish about aviation disasters, blood, limb loss, and drowning. Deep Water isn’t your movie.

When the setting is the Pacific Ocean, keeping the visual elements tight to emphasize claustrophobia and scale in equal measure is crucial. That task falls to director Renny Harlin, who directed one of my favorite slippage films, Devil’s Pass (aka, The Dyatlov Pass Incident, 2013, Anchor Bay/20^th Century Fox). Among the fractured fuselage and cleft cabins, the camera stays tight, capturing the suffocating proximity of water, metal, and bodies. Outside, wide shots are a reminder of just how small these survivors are against the vast endless ocean. Harlin coaxes more than stock emotion against desperation. There’s a human element to disaster films, and though it’s been done, caring just a little bit about who lives and who gets tossed around like a rag doll goes a long way. Cinematographer D.J. Stipsen, better known for irreverent comedies and breezy sci-fi, lends his talent to keeping their new world a little too bright and sharp. The palette leans into cold blues and grays, punctuated by emergency lighting that flickers like a dying pulse. The shifting balance of the wreckage, tilting, sinking, and threatening to break apart, becomes a visual motif, reinforcing the instability of every moment. Deep Water is controlled, immersive filmmaking that steadily tightens its grip. dials in the camera’s unblinking eye to the horrors of rapid unscheduled disassembly as metal, luggage, and bodies cartwheel across the ocean’s surface at 170 knots. At times it’s a little too close and exciting, but it’s been a slow movie season, so why not enjoy it!

The action hits, and it hits hard. From the initial crash sequence—staged with disorienting intensity—to the escalating threats that follow, including circling sharks drawn by the wreckage, the film delivers sharp, nerve-wracking set pieces. These moments are not just spectacle; they’re extensions of the characters’ desperation, each one raising the stakes as options narrow. The action feels immediate and unforgiving, culminating in a finale that balances chaos with clarity. Deep Water ultimately succeeds by marrying disaster-film scale with intimate human drama, delivering a thriller that is as gripping as it is relentless.

With the state of the world, it’s the perfect Summer Movie Season Opener.

Deep Water (2026) is Rated R for swears, familial separation, drowning, explosions, people being blown out of a plane, people being crushed, people becoming chum, bodies everywhere, and that one guy who really needs his face eaten.