Into the Blue 2: The Reef
Gratuitous sex and violence in dumb beach sequel.
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Based on 1 review
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Into the Blue 2: The Reef
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A Lot or a Little?
The parents' guide to what's in this movie.
What Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that Into the Blue 2: The Reef is a 2009 sequel to Into the Blue about a quest for buried treasure that takes a very dark turn. It's a "stand alone" sequel, having nothing in common with the original aside from the beach setting. There is frequent violence; in the opening scene, a character is killed at close range by getting shot in the head. Other characters are killed by machine guns and harpoons. There also are scenes that epitomize the term "gratuitous sex" -- scenes that are little more than an excuse to distract from the slow story line by showing naked female breasts. All of this, along with drinking and frequent profanity that includes "f--k," make this a movie only for older teens and up.
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What's the Story?
Sebastian (Chris Carmack) and Dani (Laura Vandervoort) run a snorkeling business in Honolulu. When not working, they live the laid-back beach lifestyle with their friends Mace and Kimi. But Sebastian doesn't want to run this business his whole life and dreams of discovering buried treasure, especially the treasure in a sunken ship called the San Cristobal. It seems that his dream comes true when he and Dani are approached by Carlton and Azra (Marsha Thomason) about being hired to find the San Cristobal; Carlton even has a map detailing its exact location. But Carlton and Azra are not who they claim to be; they're actually smugglers with ties to terrorists. When Sebastian and Dani are told they have one week to find the cartons that Carlton's business associates are actually looking for, Sebastian and Dani attempt a late-night dive to find out what exactly is buried in the reef. They find not treasure but bombs. When Carlton and Azra catch Sebastian and Dani doing this, they take them prisoner, along with Mace and Kimi. The four must find a way to stop Carlton and Azra before it's too late.
Is It Any Good?
INTO THE BLUE 2: THE REEF is a dumb ocean-life thriller with gratuitous scenes of sex, violence, and beach volleyball. Not since Baywatch have there been so many scenes of women in bikinis and shirtless surfer bros for no apparent reason. The problem is that these scenes slow down the actual story line and provide a bizarre counterpoint in light of the very dark turn this movie takes in its second half. Combining scenes involving wet T-shirt contests with scenes involving characters getting killed by harpoons in the same movie is unsettling.
The acting isn't terrible, but there isn't much for the actors to work with in terms of the script; almost every line from the men sounds like it needs the word "brah" tacked on at the end, and every line from the women sounds like it needs the word "like" tossed in several times. This is the kind of movie that is best enjoyed by those who want to shut off their brains and stare at beach scenes replete with scantily clad attractive people. For everybody else, the gratuitousness of it all is insulting and ultimately interferes with what the movie is actually supposed to be about.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the term "gratuitous sex." What does that mean, and how does it pertain to this movie?
Did other scenes do little to move the story along? If so, why do you think they were put in?
How is this movie similar to and different from other movies that are centered on "beach life"?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming: April 21, 2009
- Cast: Chris Carmack, Laura Vandervoort, Marsha Thomason
- Director: Stephen Herek
- Studio: MGM/UA
- Genre: Action/Adventure
- Topics: Adventures, Pirates
- Run time: 92 minutes
- MPAA rating: NR
- Last updated: November 2, 2022
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