IMAX: Wild Ocean 3D (2008) [Blu-ray 3D]
Documentary
***PLEASE NOTE: This title includes a Blu-ray 3D disc, which is compatible with 3D and 2D Blu-ray players.***
Tagline: Each year an unbelievable feeding frenzy takes place in the oceans of South Africa.
Wild Ocean is an uplifting cinematic experience capturing one of nature's greatest migration spectacles through the magic of IMAX. Plunge into an underwater feeding frenzy amidst the dolphins, sharks, whales, gannets, seals and billions of fish. Filmed
off the Wild Coast of South Africa, Wild Ocean is a timely documentary that celebrates the animals that now depend on us to survive and the efforts by local people to protect this invaluable ecological resource. Hope is alive on the Wild Coast where
Africa meets the sea...
It's one of the great events in nature: the migration of shoals of sardines up the eastern seaboard of South Africa to the waters of what is known as "the wild coast," one of the last great bastions of what the ocean once was and could be again. Every
winter, a great natural phenomenon of beautiful coordination, amazing acts of nature, and deadly predatory violence converge in Africa's waters as tropical predators hunt their newly-arrived cold water prey. Every year, the cold waters off the tip of
southern Africa carry uncountable numbers of protein-rich sardines up the eastern coast of Africa where they encounter warmer waters -- and their fate. The tiny sardines are the nutritional centerpieces for any number of underwater predators many times
their size, not to mention targets of gannets that observe the shoals from high above the water's surface, only to shoot into the water at high speeds and achieve great depths in search of a snack. The tiny sardines aren't completely defenseless, though;
they form a tightly-packed mass called a "bait ball" that is meant to fool predators into believing they are facing a large, singular creature rather than a swarming collection of delicious sardines that otherwise stand no chance against darting dolphins,
waiting whales, starving sharks, and dive-bombing birds.
Wild Ocean may be a film built around drawing attention to a cause, but the film is at its more superficial level a spectacle of sight and sound that doesn't have too many equals around the world of modern-day Documentaries. As if the gorgeous
underwater photography and the lush African coastal landscapes weren't enough to attract audiences, Directors Luke Cresswell and Steve McNicholas chose to shoot the picture in 3D, giving it a grander, even more spectacular look that only accentuates the
visuals and, by bringing the audiences closer than ever before to the wild ocean off the coast of Africa, imparts a greater sensation as to the timeliness and importance of the message at hand. Wild Ocean is loaded with unforgettable underwater
visuals that are supported by the enchanting African scenery that lives above the surface. Still, there's no denying the film's visual strength lies in the grandeur of witnessing thousands of sardines forming their bait balls and all moving almost as one,
as if they were some kind of mechanical rather than natural entity connected to a central computer. The film's most spectacular scene comes late in the movie as every element in the ecosystem works simultaneously against the sardines; it's nothing short
of a war for survival as dolphins-as-torpedoes, sharks-as-missiles, and birds-as-dive bombers simultaneously attack the shoal of sardines aided only be their numbers and singularly unique defense mechanism.
User Comment: *** This review may contain spoilers *** venmax from United States, 26 May 2009 • I don't normally go out of my way to write up reviews on this site - but wow, even my kids were bored! This
movie could have easily been called "40 Minutes of Small Fish Getting Eaten Over and Over again!" Admittedly I did not look to hard at the show description - but with a name like "Wild Ocean" you expect to get some amazing underwater photography. You got
none of that from this film. All it was was pictures of a school of sardines getting eaten by birds and dolphins (and a few sharks). That in and of itself isn't very exciting and to have to sit through 40 minutes of it (seriously the shots DON'T change)
is pure torture. The best they manage to do is change the shots to slow motion near the end of the film. It really is lame for an IMAX film.
Summary: First Sub-Par IMAX movie I've ever seen.
User Comment: Greg Sheetz from United States, 19 June 2008 • I've seen a lot of IMAX movies and never really felt compelled to write a review before but I just saw Wild Ocean last weekend which gave me whole new faith in IMAX! So
many IMAX movies are based on the same boring template even though the photography is always great. But Wild Ocean not only had some of the most stunning shots I've seen, it also features a timely message on the environment, great African culture, awesome
music, and packs a genuine emotional punch (another thing rare in IMAX)! My kids wanted to go for the dolphins and sharks. Wild Ocean delivers on all fronts for everyone. Try to see this in IMAX because this film just raised the bar.
Summary: Wow, go see this!
[CSW] -2.8- Beautiful photography throughout but always a bit confusing because of the chaotic motion of all of the creatures in almost every shot. Wild Ocean is a film built around drawing attention to a cause and thus is a bit more eco-political
than I normally like but it proves itself a worthy documentary not only for its spectacular visuals and quality narration but for the delicacy with which the subject material is handled. I do wish it had SDH though.
--- JOYA - No SDH ---
º º