Synopsis

At an isolated underwater research facility, scientists genetically enlarge the brains of mako sharks while searching for a treatment for Alzheimer's disease. The experiment succeeds too well, giving the sharks heightened intelligence. When the facility is damaged during a storm, the surviving crew must escape through flooding corridors while outmaneuvering predators that can anticipate their every move.

Factoids & Trivia

• The film was primarily shot at Fox Baja Studios in Rosarito, Mexico, using large water tanks originally constructed for Titanic.

• The sharks were created through a combination of animatronics, computer-generated imagery, and footage of real sharks. Visual effects were especially important during the storm sequence and the destruction of the Aquatica facility.

• Screenwriter Duncan Kennedy developed the basic idea after witnessing a shark attack near his Australian home. He described the concept as emerging from a recurring nightmare about sharks that could read minds.

• Samuel L. Jackson's sudden death during the famous motivational speech was designed as a major shock. The moment became one of the film's most remembered scenes because the speech appears to establish him as a likely central survivor.

• The movie includes a visual reference to Jaws: the license plate pulled from a shark's teeth recalls the license plate found inside the tiger shark in the earlier film.

• Test audiences saw a different ending in which Susan survived and defeated the shark. The ending was changed before release, and the original version has since become a subject of fan interest.

• LL Cool J contributed two songs to the soundtrack, including "Deepest Bluest (Shark's Fin)," which plays over the end credits.

• Released in the United States on July 28, 1999, the film earned more than $164 million worldwide against an estimated $60 million budget.