Into the Blue Parent Guide

Treasure hunting off the coast of the Bahamas looks like an idyllic job. Sun, sand and warm waters appear to be the perfect working conditions. Yet for Jared (Paul Walker) and his girlfriend Sam (Jessica Alba), the big payoff has eluded them to this point.

Living together in a rundown trailer by the docks, they pick up work where they can to pay for their diving expeditions and to repair their leaky vessel.

Then Jared’s longtime lawyer friend from New York City arrives on the island. With a leggy blonde (Ashley Scott) on his arm and access to an impressive yacht, Bryce (Scott Cann) invites Jared and Sam along for a sail. Taking the boat out to sea, the foursome does some preliminary hunting for a shipwreck.

The outing turns lucky when Jared stumbles upon some promising relics recently uncovered by a hurricane. But the ancient ruin isn’t the only thing they come across. Nearby they discover the fresh wreckage of a plane loaded with illegal drugs. Knowing the spot will be cordoned off and investigated once it is reported, the four of them opt to postpone telling the authorities about it until they can stake a claim on the area.

Looking for the one item that will allow him to assert his right to the antiques, Jared knows he has to hurry before his rival (Josh Brolin) gets wind of the discovery and moves in with his salvage crew and their high-tech equipment. With their own tanks running on empty, the beach dwelling buddy and his legal friend start to feel some strain over the contents of the unreported aircraft, especially since Bryce sees no harm in recovering the sunken plane’s cargo in order to finance their treasure hunting operation.

However, once word of the find bubbles to the surface, the quartet are attacked from every angle by unscrupulous, new-age buccaneers, resulting in escalating violent exchanges including depictions of blood-splattered bodies, multiple close range shootings and intentional drowning. When the scent of human blood from an injury is released into the bay, sharks swimming in the pristine waters are driven to a vicious feeding frenzy.

Drug trafficking and the recreational use of illegal substances also become issues when two of the characters unwisely approach the leader of a smuggling ring on the island. Caught up in the cocaine trade, the results are deadly for some, while others unrealistically avoid the fatal consequences.

Drowning in sexual innuendo and skimpy swimwear, Into the Blue takes a potentially strong message about the dangers of the drug world and waters it down, leaving viewers drifting helplessly in a bloody undercurrent of content concerns.

About author

Kerry Bennett

Kerry Bennett is interested in media from both a journalist and parent perspective. Along with authoring articles for several family-oriented publications, she has written for Parent Previews for over 15 years. As a parent herself, she believes parents play a powerful role in teaching media literacy in their homes.