13 Movie Protagonists You're Desperate To See Lose

Deep Blue Sea is a well-executed B-movie in many ways and it's one of the only shark movies not named Jaws that is worth seeing but the film does have its issues. Its protagonist, Dr Susan McAllister (Saffron Burrows) is one of the biggest ones, and this was recognized before the film was even released.

During test screenings, those first viewers were absolutely unanimous in their dislike of McAllister, a hubristic scientist who is trying to cure Alzheimer's. She has conducted a series of dangerous experiments on some mako sharks. As a result, they become unusually intelligent and incredibly deadly, and she prevents the others from killing the sharks more than once so that she can protect her research. 

Those audiences were infuriated by the original ending, in which Susan survived while the far more lovable, film-stealing comic relief character Sherman (LL Cool J) died. As such, the ending was reshot, with Susan dying in the climax and Sherman surviving in her place. Test audiences do frequently hold far too much sway in Hollywood but they were bang on the money here.  

McAllister is, after all, a cold, arrogant and unlikable lead who's at fault for most of the other characters dying horrible deaths. A stronger lead performance might've brought more humanity and depth to her, but Saffron Burrows' wooden performance definitely wasn't up to the challenge. As such, it's hard to feel much sympathy for Susan when she's killed by one of the monsters she herself created.