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I love documentaries and I love IMAX but the two are
somewhat incompatible. How are they incompatible? It’s quite
simple—most IMAX movies are short (or shorter) than what
you might see in a regular theater for a variety of reasons.
That’s also true of the documentaries that are done for
IMAX and, as a result, just when things get interesting
it’s all over. That’s a flaw that also dogs “Under the Sea”
an otherwise fine movie that should have been about 30 to
40 minutes longer to be effective and memorable. ***
Taking us on a tour in a section of the Indo-Pacific
that’s rarely seen full of beautiful, rich undersea life
that reminds us that the most alien life we can find in
the universe at present is, well, on our planet. Featuring
Jim Carrey’s fun narration and surprisingly sedate for Carrey,
“Under the Sea” is still an enjoyable documentary that needs
more meat on its bones. Director Howard Hall has been in
this territory before—this is the fourth documentary that
he’s directed for IMAX and the same flaws that dogged those
other IMAX documentaries are evident here as well. That’s
not to say this isn’t a strong documentary but it could
be better. Hall is quite good at putting together a strong
narrative for what could be a series of random bits and
pieces of film that doesn’t give us a sense of the way things
work in the ocean. Hall’s won quite a few awards but with
this film that’s not likely to happen because as good as
it is “Under the Sea” should and could be a better , more
involved movie. ---
Image & Sound:
“Under the Sea” looks beautiful in its presentation
on Blu-ray. The film receives a rich, detailed and colorful
transfer that has few to no visible flaws in the video and
audio presentation. You will find yourself breathless with
some of the footage we here. ***
Audio sounds quite good with a rich 4.1 DTS lossless
presentation. Hall’s team captures the atmospheric sounds”
under the sea quite nicely. ---
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