Richard Dreyfuss elevates new shark movie 'Into The Deep' (review) — The Daily Jaws

 The Daily Jaws

Title: Into the Deep (2025) — directed by Christian Sesma. 

Starring: Richard Dreyfuss, Scout Taylor‑Compton, Callum McGowan. The Daily Jaws

Runtime: approx. 1 hr 30 mins.

Basic plot: A woman (Cassidy) who overcame her fear of water (thanks to her grandfather, played by Dreyfuss) becomes a marine biologist. She and her boyfriend set out to recover sunken treasure (80 kg of heroin) and get caught up with modern-day pirates and shark attacks. 

The cast: The reviewer singles out Taylor-Compton as “silent toughness” in her role. Jon Seda (as pirate leader) also gets a nod for keeping his character grounded rather than over-the-top.

 Richard Dreyfuss’s presence: “What a great bit of casting … He has always had a way of holding the audience with just his words … as we listen to his advice … you hang on every word.”

 Some production values: The review notes that it doesn’t go overboard with CGI shark attacks, which is a credit in an era of shark films heavy on visuals.

 The pacing: Described as “well-paced, moves along swiftly.”

 A positive conservation message: At the end of the film, Dreyfuss delivers a PSA on the importance of

Criticisms & caveats

 The review acknowledges that despite Dreyfuss, it’s not “Jaws” and doesn’t try to be.

 Plot and dialogue: Implicitly, the premise (treasure + pirates + sharks) is derivative of earlier works. (The review compares it loosely to another title: “If I compare … it would be The Deep.”)

Special effects/shark sequences: While the review gives credit for restraint, in other sources the effects are criticized. E.g., they say the sharks look pretty convincing in one review, but others say the CGI is weak

 Context & Additional Notes

Shark films are a crowded field, many of which lean heavily on gimmicks or CGI. The review notes the film’s restraint in shark-action is a plus.

The casting of Dreyfuss is significant: he starred in “Jaws” (1975), a benchmark in the shark-thriller genre. His presence here acts almost as a nod to shark-movie tradition.

According to other reviews, while Dreyfuss brings gravitas, the film suffers from screenplay issues and budget constraints. E.g., one review says: “the script is so bogged down by clichéd and contrived dialogue …”

Audience reception appears mixed: some enjoy it as a fun shark flick, others regard it as sub-par. One Reddit viewer:

“Just watched it. It’s less a shark movie and more a really terrible piracy thriller.”

Reddit

The film’s Rotten Tomatoes rating is low (around 27% Tomatometer) pointing to critical consensus being quite negative