I started the movie expecting to turn it off because it was so bad. Instead, I watched to the end and quite enjoyed it.

It.is not a movie that requires deep intellectual thought and never aspires to be. Instead it is.a popcorn flick with good looking people searching for treasure and it delivers on this.

If you just want to spend a couple of hours enjoying something light and entertaining, this is a good option.

Brainless film about a good looking but brainless couple who decide to live their dream and take people on diving tours. The pair almost instantly make the wrong choice of customers and get mixed up with some people seeking to recover the items that we see falling to the ocean floor during the opening credits sequence. Great looking direct to video movie could have been so much better if it wasn't so interested in primarily looking good. Performances are serviceable and the plot is actually not bad, or would have been had the director and producers not redirected the plot into making sure we see lots of shapely people in bathing suits (or in what I'm guessing the reason for the "unrated" moniker a few fleeting bare breasts). The film never generates any tension nor rises above the level of a forgettable TV movie. If you get roped in to seeing this you won't pluck your eyes out since the eye candy is pleasant but we really need to stop producers from making films that are excuses to have a paid vacation.

I wasn't all that impressed with either 1977's "The Deep" or the film it inspired 28 years later, 2005's "Into the Blue." They were decent oceanic thrillers but that's about it. I liked the actors in both -- Nick Nolte, Robert Shaw & Jacqueline Bisset in "The Deep" and Paul Walker, Scott Caan & Jessica Alba in "Into the Blue" -- but unless you're rabid fans of Bisset and Alba (or the guys) neither film ever rose above the level of average.

2009's direct-to-video "Into the Blue 2: The Reef" is a sequel-in-name-only that successfully builds on the template of those other two films, delivering a far more entertaining experience IMHO.

"Into the Blue 2" simply has a more engaging story, more dazzling filmmaking and better, more numerous bikini-clad babes. In other words, everything that you might be looking for in an island thriller is here, only better than those earlier pictures. Although the main cast is relatively no-name (Chris Carmack, Laura Vandervoort, Marsha Thomason & Dave Anders),they do a splendid job; plus the film is highlighted by two solid cameos of Parvati Shallow ("Survivor") and Audrina Patridge, both incredibly gorgeous. Another highlight is the ultra-serious and thrilling final act, which comprises the last 35 minutes or so. Up to that point the story is pretty much just a fun, light-hearted beach/diving flick. The dramatic change in tone works in the film's favor and keeps it from being one-dimensional.

Since "Into the Blue 2: The Reef" is a direct-to-video release it cost a fraction the expense of "The Deep" and "Into The Blue," the latter of which cost a whopping $50 million, believe it or not. This makes an interesting study: Filmmakers can make better films at a fraction of the cost; it's simply a matter of ingenuity. Hats off to director Stephen Herek, writer Mitchell Kapner and the cast - awesome job!

"Into the Blue 2" was shot in Hawaii whereas the other two were filmed in the Caribbean.

The runtime is 92 minutes.

GRADE: A-