Into the Blue

‘We’re going to be rich!’ whoop a group of divers after they find both a plane load of cocaine and a boat load of treasure at the bottom of the ocean. While such exuberant optimism characterises the first part of this Bahamas-set thriller, a strong note of caution emerges when some of the group decide to sell the cocaine to fund the recovery of the treasure. But while moral issues are tackled, they’re mainly used to create dramatic tension between virtuous Sam (Jessica Alba), boyfriend Jared (Paul Walker) and their greedy friends Bryce, a gambling lawyer, and Amanda, a ‘coke whore’, as Sam puts it. The briskly sketched characters and fantasy-led storyline have a B-movie feel, brazenly supported by the camera’s eagerness to exploit the actors’ sexual charms (Alba’s wiggling rear is the star of many an underwater scene). The plodding pace does little to raise the quality bar, but the occasional burst of peril involves. A glitzy little B-movie, then.