IMAX: Deep Sea
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Movie Reviews of IMAX: Deep Sea
Movie Review: poorly mixed audio
Summary: 3 Stars
Deep Sea is visually beautiful. The audio, however, is poorly mixed. The "background" music is louder than the narrative and is annoyingly loud when the volume is turned up loud enough to hear the narration.
Movie Review: See in an IMAX theater; don't bother with the DVD
Summary: 2 Stars
I was eagerly awaiting the release of this DVD, as I missed the film when it played in IMAX theaters. It boasted an impressive array of talent (including narration by Johnny Depp and Kate Winslet and a score by Danny Elfman) and adoring reviews. Unfortunately, this is one of those IMAX films that doesn't survive the transition to the small, 2-D screen. Stripped of the 3-D effects and gigantic high-resolution image, it's deadly dull.
"Deep Sea" starts off strongly with a mysterious shot of ethereal jellyfish swimming in darkness. Then the next shot is of a huge grouper floating almost motionlessly, and Depp brightly tells us that "he's always hungry!" The film continues in that vein, with endless shots that were obviously staged for 3-D but appear oddly static and contrived on a television screen. The narration is utterly inane; it vacillates between PBS-style pomposities (there's the obligatory stuff about how we're devastating the ocean ecosystem) and anthropomorphic nonsense that seems to be aimed at small children. Depp manages to maintain his dignity, but Winslet comes off as condescending. Elfman's classical work "Serenada Schizophrana" is somewhat awkwardly adapted into a score that is barely audible under the narration.
Despite the phrase "deep sea" in the title, most of the film seems to be taking place about 20 feet under water. With the possible exception of a squid that changes color several times a second, there's nothing in this film that you haven't seen before.
Movie Review: Shallow Sea
Summary: 2 Stars
This film was released to Imax theaters in 3D. It was probably very entertaining and exhilarating in 3D. But, I'm sorry to say, it's very ordinary in 2D. There is nothing more annoying than watching a 3D movie in 2D. All the carefully staged 3D shots, pardon the pun, stick out like a sore thumb.
And the narration, while performed by the two outstanding actors Johnny Depp and Kate Winslet, is completely one dimensional. Or should I say 1D? Not only is it dull, it's annoying. It sounds like they both read the narration for the entire film and the director, Howard Hall, had buttons for both of their recordings and randomly switched them on and off with no rhyme or reason. There were times, and I'm not exaggerating, when Depp would start a sentence and Winslet would finish it!
And as for the title, "Deep Sea"? Not once did the film journey deeper than the coral reefs.
There are a lot of excellent documentaries about the ocean to add to your library. This is not one of them.
Movie Review: Money better spent watching it at an IMAX theatre
Summary: 2 Stars
This is pretty enjoyable when watching it in IMAX. However when viewing it at home, it's really a less than average underwater documentary. Right from the beginning line when Depp says "These are not visitors from an alien planet...", you can pretty much tell this is aimed at a very young audience. It tries to be 'cute' a little too often, and really doesn't present information in much detail. Not sure what to expect though when you're covering all aspects of the ocean in 41 minutes.
It has nice cinematography and realistic colors, but nothing groundbreaking. I've seen better documentaries on discovery. This is only worth watching at IMAX.
Movie Review: Not what I expected
Summary: 2 Stars
We have several Imax DVDs including a few underwater features, which we love. This one seems to be shot after shot of big fish eating smaller fish. Pretty boring watching sea animals eat each other for 40 minutes.
The narration is not great either. Depp and Winslet take turns narrating. It seems like they are narrating for 2 different movies. There is no continuity.