Dolphins and Whales 3D: Tribes of the Ocean

Yes, there were some beautiful shots of the animals..... That being said, I have nothing else positive to say about this film. It can easily be compared to watching a moving copy of a poorly written encyclopedia. The content was not in the least bit interesting. I have seen lots of great dolphin and whale documentaries and this was easily the mostly boring one I have ever seen. After 20 min (so...half the movie) my daughter turned to me and asked "has it started yet?" I couldn't blame her, I felt like I'd been watching the opening credits for the last 20 minutes. The 3D was also some of the worst I have seen, It would zoom in on these dramatic close ups and then the whole thing would go blurry, not my idea of a well made film when it's so blurry you don't know what part of the whale you are looking at. The constant guilt trips about humans ruining the ocean got a little old as well. It was always thrown in at the end of a segment, like it was trying to be subtle, but failing miserably. I have to say I wasn't too upset when this film ended after about 45 min, I was just glad to get out of there. But really? Can you call that a movie? I call it a glorified public service announcement.

Beautiful shot. Stunning visuals. But Short. Too short. Incoherent. It jumps from whale to whale to dolphin. It even has a manatee cameo (it's called whales & dolphins...not sea mammals?) It doesn't seem to have a clear goal of narration. Boring. Yes- I found the narration dull and lifeless. Didn't give much information, -sounded more like filler material. I had hoped to new insights to whales & dolphins, never before seen events, I dunno...something Cousteau? The environmental message to preachy. And on top of that delivered flat. I think the emphasis was on 3D -not on whales & dolphins. Not the worst,but not one worthy of the name Cousteau either.

This movie gives you the feeling that it is both educational and entertaining. But it doesn't quite work completely. Especially if you have seen "Deep Water" (3-D), than you will find this quite a downfall compared to that other documentary. While the speaker try their best, Johnny Depp and Kate Winslet are hard to top ... actually they are not able too.

But it's not the voice artists fault that it doesn't quite work. It has quite a few good moments (I watched it 3-D, but not in an IMAX), but overall seems to lack some substance and the fine line Deep Sea was walking, being informative and a good listen too. The pictures are good enough and if you like underwater shots, than you will be more than satisfied anyways. But if you only watch one underwater documentary, make it Deep Sea 3-D

Like the gentle giants that make up the latter half of this film's title, Jean-Michel Cousteau's latest production has grace, but it's also slow and ponderous. The producer's last outing, "Sharks-3D" had the same problem. It's hard to imagine a boring shark documentary, but they somehow managed it. The only draw for Sharks was it's passable 3D, which is always fun when dealing with wondrous worlds beneath the ocean's surface. But even that was only passable. Poor focus in some scenes made the production seems amateurish. With Dolphins and Whales, the technology is all but wasted. Cloudy scenes and too many close-ups of the film's giant subjects do nothing to take advantage of IMAX's stunning 3D capabilities. There are far too few scenes of any depth or variety. Close-ups of these awesome creatures just look flat and there is often only one creature in the cameras field, so there is no contrast of depth. Jean-Michel Cousteau is trying to follow in his father's footsteps, but when you've got Shark-Week on cable, his introspective and dull treatment of his subjects is a constant disappointment.

'Dolphins and Whales: Tribes of the Ocean 3D' is the sort of documentary that will appeal to a lot of people and one that many will find a lot of worth in it, but there will be others that may not find it is to their taste. Have never had anything against 3D, though it has been used to very variable effect in documentaries (being either striking and well made or overused and too gimmicky). Was also really looking forward to learning more about dolphins and whales, animals that are always worth learning about.

Part of me was a bit disappointed in 'Dolphins and Whales: Tribes of the Ocean 3D'. Certainly didn't hate it, there are a lot of good things and the 3D use and the more human approach to the animals worked fine. 'Dolphins and Whales: Tribes of the Ocean 3D' was rather uneven however and for me did have some major drawbacks. There are better documentaries on dolphins and whales, whether individually or together, around that informed and engaged me more.

There are many things done very well. On the most part 'Dolphins and Whales: Tribes of the Ocean 3D' impresses visually. Underwater is both enchanting and full of colour yet also unforgiving and indicative that under the sea is not all idyllic and has its challenges. The cinematography as hoped is exquisite and rich in colour and on the most part the animals look great. The music is indeed serene and is never discordant with the atmosphere or overbearing.

As with every nature documentaries, the stars should always be the animals. The dolphins and the whales certainly do steal the show. They are showcased beautifully here, whether prey or predator, cute or menacing and small or big. They are far from small in personality and are big on charm, and the story is cute enough without being sickly and has tension without being overly dark. The writing does have informative and entertaining moments.

However, it could have been delivered better. Have nothing against Daryl Hannah as an actress, but she didn't feel right for narrator. It could have been a lot more involved and expressive, Hannah often sounded like she was just delivering the lines rather than living them. Like many 3D nature documentaries, the length felt too short.

Which did compromise the pacing, which was too often very rushed and jumpy. Do agree too that the environmental message while relevant was too abruptly introduced, very heavy handed and rather tacked on.

Concluding, above average and worth seeing if you are interested in the animals focused on and are interested in seeing a documentary in 3D, but wasn't wowed by it and though there was room for improvement. 6/10.