Deep Sea

This is a review of the DVD which, unfortunately, is not in 3D so I am unable to rave about those "effects" as others have here, and was unable to enjoy the film as much as others did at the IMAX theaters.

However, I am not complaining. I still thought the photography was amazing and the colors just spectacular. I've never seen underwater footage this good. This also is the first time I've actually heard the sounds that some of these marine creatures make. I just presumed, like many others, there was mostly silence underneath the surface. That's not so; there are some amazing sounds.

More so, there are some amazing creatures that most of us have never heard about or seen. Some of them are downright weird-looking, repulsive yet fascinating. They are so strange you think you're looking at some animated film with cartoon characters.....but these creatures are real. Some of them are frightening and brutal killers.

I've read complaints about the narration by Johnny Depp and Kate Winslet, and have to agree on a couple points. Winslet does make an attempt to put some reflection in her voice but Depp sounds like he's sleepwalking through this. His voice is flat, a monotone, and it sounds like he's reading the material for the first time. Neither of these two add much life to his documentary.

Others complain that it's just under 40 minutes and thus, the DVD overpriced. Well, not having compared it to the IMAX 3-D experience, I found it very interesting and stunning to view. I wouldn't mind adding it to my collection because this is something I would watch multiple times.

This is a good documentary and the shots and coverage of the deep ocean is quite pleasing(and harrowing in places). However, with the advent of instant access to so much content, there isn't anything here that you won't find in better resolution on Netflix or Amazon. Still, if you enjoy documentaries or have even the slightest of fascination with sea life I feel you can spend an hour and some time with Deep Sea.

Like others, I had very high hopes when I heard that Johnny Depp and Kate Winslet would be narrating this IMAX film, and that Danny Elfman would be doing the score. However, I was quite disappointed in those elements that attracted my attention to the movie.

The style of Winslet and Depp's narration might be fine for kids, I suppose, but I found it very irritating. Perhaps I'm brainwashed by decades of authoritative-sounding old men with big voices narrating nature documentaries, but I don't think that's all it is. The narration style here is just silly. And not in a good way (although the way Winslet and Depp voiced the exchange I used as the title of my review did provoke plenty of unintentional(?) laughter, and my girlfriend and I still quote the lines occasionally).

Danny Elfman's score, while not outright bad like the narration, did strike me as overwrought and corny (again, I suppose it's fine if viewed as intended only for young children).

And as another reviewer has also noted, the foley was really over the top in this documentary. The fake squealing vocalizations of the sea creatures was particularly irksome and inappropriate.

The film is still worth watching for the amazing underwater footage, but shots intended to be seen in IMAX 3D don't have the same overwhelming impact on the TV screen.

2006's 'Deep Sea 3D' is one of several documentary short films presented in IMAX 3D. These short films are mostly quite interesting, but their overall quality is of the flawed and inconsistent but generally worthwhile kind. The effects have also varied. Underwater is always fascinating, often re-visited in nature documentaries but it never feels old when re-visited and a lot is learned every time without being recycled. Also like Kate Winslet and Johnny Depp as actors.

On the whole, 'Deep Sea 3D' was pretty well done. It is far from being one of the best IMAX 3D documentaries and has a few major debits. 'Deep Sea 3D' has many fantastic things however, and they do far outweigh the debits. The subject and location may not be new, but really liked the approach taken with the material and admired what was done to make it accessible, none of it felt old hat either.

Am going to start with what could have been done better. Like most of the IMAX 3D documentaries, 'Deep Sea 3D' does feel too short. With a lot of content, this could very comfortably have been 20 minutes longer perhaps which would have given the viewer more time to take in the information and also learn more.

'Deep Sea 3D' is one of the few IMAX nature documentaries where the narration didn't work for me entirely, was pretty mixed on it actually. Much of the writing is informative and interesting, but was less keen on the delivery. It would have worked a lot better with just one narrator, with Winslet being better suited as she is more expressive and her tone fitted the atmosphere better. Depp didn't seem as involved and the backing and forthing did distract and could have been used a lot less.

Can't fault everything else. 'Deep Sea 3D' looks incredible for one thing, with the photography being particularly awe-inspiring. Have not seen coral reefs look this beautiful in a while. The Undersea world dazzles visually, those gorgeous colours, though one is aware without being beaten round the head that it poses daily challenges for the wildlife. This is also one of the more successful IMAX 3D nature documentaries when it comes to the 3D effects, which actually doesn't look cheap, too gimmicky or/and too reliant upon.

The music, with an accessible style, is relaxing in some parts while having some edge in other parts. The animals are a great mix of adorable, formidable and exotic.

When it comes to the information, it is very educational without preachiness or being gimmicky. Familiar content still being approached freshly, and in a way that will captivate and never disturb kids while not being cookie cutter. More to this than beautiful wildlife in a beautiful habitat.

Perfect 'Deep Sea 3D' is not, but there is a lot to admire. 7/10.

If cavemen were thawed out from a block of ice and saw a program on a TV, they would look at each other and say (in their cavemen tongue) "that's magic!" If the same cavemen were at a screening of Deep Sea 3D at the IMAX theater they would rip out their own eyes and try to beat each other to death with them because it is dark dark magic that will grab you by your very soul. I had been waiting a long time to see the sights in this film and I was not disappointed. But the keyword here is "sights." Although this film definitely merits a 9 out of 10, there were a few small things that kept it from hitting that "10/10" mark.

I have no problem with Johnny Depp or Kate Winslet, or their voices. However, the back and forth narration with them basically finishing one another's sentences was distracting.

I can understand why they added their own sound effects to "enhance" the movie, but it got a little over-the-top at times, and I think if one wasn't particularly perceptive they might not realize that what they were hearing was essentially special effects added to a nature documentary. Now don't tell me "well 3D is a special effect too but you're not complaining about that!" The difference is, they are up front about the 3D effect. Simply adding a disclaimer at the beginning of the film to the effect of "some audio effects have been added" would have been a nice gesture.

I know IMAX films are expensive to produce, and I guess it could be interpreted as a compliment when one comes out of a movie saying "I wish there were more," but it really was too short. As long as you know when you're shelling out your $11.50 that you're only getting 45 minutes, you'll be okay. (Really, for me, the bits with the Humboldt squid and the Pacific octopus made it money well spent) So apart from these minor annoyances, Deep Sea 3D is definitely something you should treat yourself to in the theaters while you can! Hopefully in a couple of years they'll have the expertise to give us a 3D IMAX film about the weird and grotesque sea creatures in the abyss!