Deep Sea 3D (2006)

Nice effects though.

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

Johnny Depp and Kate Winslet provide very pleasant narration for this IMAX film which I watched on DVD. At home, it is not in 3-D. However that did not detract at all.The movie is not a 40-minute story, but instead is several episodes covering different, interesting parts of life in our seas. The photography is in beautiful color.My personal favorite was the story about the California Mantis Shrimp. It is about 10 inches long, very colorful, lives in a burrow, but in the water moves much like a cartoon figure in superb digital animation. But this shrimp is real. It has fast, powerful legs that strike a blow similar to a 22 rifle shot, to crack open shells. But we also get to see an octopus trying to invade this shrimp's territory, and the shrimp is one cool customer, chasing him away with a few choice strikes.Overall a very fine film, worth a viewing or two.

The 40 minute IMAX experience makes it's way to DVD without any additions, minus the 3D glasses. For better or worse what home viewers are still left with remains nothing short of stunning the entire stretch of time. Against all marketing intuitions, the short documentary still remains absolutely captivating from the first frame with it's charming portrayal of some of the ocean's less represented characters. Aided by the eerie luminescence of Danny Elfman's score and playful narration from Johnny Depp and Kate Winslet, Deep Sea 3D might pale in comparison to the original experience but for anyone even half-interested in the revelations of nature, particularly occurring in the alternate universes miles below us, the spectacular, too-beautiful-to-be-real visuals present will remain nothing short of miraculous with each subsequent viewing.

I went with my boyfriend to go see this opening night and I must confess I had been waiting for this movie to come out in IMAX for literally months. I am in love with ocean-life, specifically sharks. I must also must confess that I have probably seen more movies at the IMAX than in a regular movie theater. The only one not a documentary was Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. So to say the least I had very high hopes for this film. When I discovered the narrators were Johnny Depp and Kate Winslet, they got even higher. Then when I discovered that Danny Elfman did the music and David Forsyth was on camera I knew it would be magic. I was not disappointed. It starts with the coral reefs and the homes of the animals and it quickly it becomes incredibly easy to lose yourself within the movie, however you feel like you are losing yourself in the ocean. You explore the life inside the reef and listen to how they all work together and you almost become proud of the life and animal community there. It moves seamlessly from the reef to the open ocean and you begin to see the most amazing footage ever caught on film. From the creatures that you are familiar with, like the shrimp and squid to the fishes and jellyfish that your mind is stunned by because they are like nothing you expect or can dream up. It is a trip and education that you'll never be able to have anywhere else unless you are diving in the ocean. I had my mouth open in awe for much of this film. The camera shots, the narration, the music is a beautiful package. There were times I actually felt like I wanted to cry, because of the absolute magificance of the filming and the subjects of the film. I do have one complaint though. It was over way too soon!

Deep Sea is the latest joy to be released in IMAX but part of its excellence comes, as so often, from being presented in IMAX 3D. All films should be released in this format, it's the true way forward for cinema. Even The Polar Express was good in IMAX!Deep Sea is a 40 minute documentary feature that makes the most of its 3D. From the opening shot of a wave headed straight out of the screen to jellyfish fields, giant sea turtles and octopus and a legion of fish varieties and stunning underwater seascapes it does present the world it shows in rarely seen way.It is only let down by the talking down, over-humanisation of the narration aimed at the kids in the audience, especially from Kate Winslet. Johnny Deppp works better but Winslet sounds like a school-marm talking to a class of four year olds. And the narration has an annoying habit, ala March Of The Penguins, of endowing the animals with human traits to make them easier to associate with for childish minds.David Attenborough and the BBC make better documentaries as a whole production but you can't fault Deep Sea 3D's visuals and the immersion experience the IMAX format provides. See it for the experience. It is like nothing you've experienced before, the narration really is only a minor annoyance.