Into The Blue is a moralistic action film starring the dearly departed Fast and Furious star John Walker and Jessica Alba as a pair who are happily in love and have modest dreams until his friend, played by Scott Caan, and his recently picked up love interest, played by Ashley Scott, i.e. Huntress from the television series Birds of Prey, tempt the boyfriend into being a bad boy and attracting the wrong attention. Will they and their love survive?
I feel as if you really have to love the ocean and seeing half naked people to enjoy Into The Blue. It is not an empty action movie with a flimsy story as an excuse to tenuously string together a bunch of action scenes that were borne out of a computer lab, but it also is not much deeper than a kiddie pool. It is like an updated cautionary film for young adults. We went from just say no to drugs to just say no to dealing drugs or selling out when you already have what you want. It is a clear case of making the wrong kind of friends that lead the protagonist astray, and it is so heavy-handed and obvious from the commencement of the film that the only thing that saves the film is that the story is not entirely predictable in terms of overall plot twists involving the supporting cast, which is notably better in terms of acting skill than the stars, including James Frain who usually plays bad guys in True Blood and The Tudors, and Josh Brolin who was recently the GOAT villain Thanos. When you see them in this film, you know that bills are real and universal.
So why did I watch Into The Blue? I have liked Alba since Dark Angel, and she gets second billing after Walker. Alba and Jensen Ackles imprinted on me in that television series, and in my book, they apparently have a stamp of approval which makes me vulnerable to watching anything that they are in regardless of quality. Unlike Ackles, Alba did not rope me into a fifteen-year commitment, just the occasional movie, and this one is under two hours. Sure those two hours could have been devoted to something better, but they were not. Think about the sacrifices Alba has made. Apparently the filmmaker had her stunt double secretly filn in a bikini so Alba would have to wear one throughout the film. I do not even understand how that works, but it sounds plausible since they found a way to get as close to her making out with two guys at the same by making her pass oxygen to them under water. She has to play the easy going, totally chill girlfriend when in fact, Alba is probably not that that chill in real life if she has been working since she was eleven and has to act as if she is not noticing all the sexual harassment. She left the Catholic Church for that reason. She refuses to do nudity and has been married for over a decade. So if you think that she is not acting and is just another pretty face, the woman is a goddamned professional. Try not bitching about your job and actually seeming copacetic about it when it involves that level of incessant fuckery. Also she is a successful international business owner who then wrote a New York Times bestselling book about it. I would not be surprised if she was inspired into activism on behalf of sharks because of this film. Alba is an understated legend. Do not take her for granted.
I have no idea if Into The Blue’s filmmakers actually did it consciously, or if the supporting cast decided to spice up their performance, but if the film does work on a deeper level, it is in terms of race. People hate tourists, and black people are more conservative than most people know. Like the Manny on This Is Us, if you prove that you can act right, you can get a pass and be accepted by all communities, but that pass is not transferable and can be revoked at any time. Walker and Alba are beloved, but the amount of side eye and silent disgust hurled in the direction of his friends speaks volumes. This film can serve as instructional video for anyone going abroad: do not act like Caan and Scott. They are loud (glass houses), crude, showboats and obnoxious partiers. Just because you are on vacation does not mean that everyone around you is—sincerely the commuter just trying to get home when a bunch of young, drunk revelers board the train. We hate you.
Walker’s character is supposed to be the symbol of classic American values: an honest, independent, hardworking person who would prefer to be his own man and not take orders from anyone, which Into The Blue cosigns, but not at any cost. So the film does not mind that he is poor and agrees with his assessment that working for anyone else as an employee, regardless of the employer’s scruples, is only exploitation, but he must not cut corners. Women are in charge of the morals of her man, not the man, and Alba is as wholesome as Ma in Little House on the Prairie whereas Scott plays the slattern. Similar to a horror film, the women are rewarded based on their respective morality, but men are given multiple chances to get back on track. Men get empathy and cut slack. Women get punished. If this film is progressive, it is only for not assigning morality points based on fashion choices or having premarital sex, which is never depicted on screen, but heavily implied since everyone is hot, which is probably more for the heterosexual men’s enjoyment than any respect of women’s actual character independent of her looks and sexuality.
Meanwhile if I made Into The Blue, I would have punished Caan’s character for saying that he was broke, but still spending money to snag hot chicks, buying a couple of plane tickets to visit friends on unnamed Caribbean islands and partying. Stay at home and get a job, you bum! The part of the prodigal son’s brother will be played by yours truly tonight. I am not a great actor, but I make up for it with honest emotion mostly in the judgey spectrum.
Into The Blue apparently had a direct to video sequel and other than the name, has nothing to do with this film. In spite of being a completist, I have no interest in seeing it. I probably should not have seen the original. After all, the director, John Stockwell, made Blue Crush, which I also found disappointing and underwhelming, but I never bothered to check the pedigree of this film so it is my fault. On the other hand, Stockwell made Middle of Nowhere which I enjoyed, but when I look at the rest of his credits, I think that the downhill trajectory is obvious. This film was probably one of his better ones. If you are a fan of the cast, beautiful scenery and people and old-fashioned values only slightly updated for oglers, this film is for you, but you will forget about it the minute that you turn it off. No Men in Black necessary.