IMAX: Under The Sea Blu-ray Review

IMAX: Under the Sea is another documentary by director Howard Hall, who has previously done other documentaries like Deep Sea and Island of Sharks, and takes another deep sea adventure in different locations: Papua New Guinea, South of Australia, The Great Barrier Reef, and Indonesia. Hall takes the viewers into the depths of these locations unknown to many and gives us a glimpse of the ocean life and beautiful scenery found there. Hall’s great and stunning photography gives much to the imagination portraying beautiful imagery. Throughout the film, viewers are shown the different wild life found in each location and explain their curious habitats as well as their normal day to day activities. The film is narrated by comedian Jim Carrey adding his humorous tone and comments along the entire film.

It’s impressive to think that we know everything that’s out there and yet small films like this show us something else that we were unaware of. I enjoyed the underwater scenery, the journey through each location, and specially the discovery of life I’ve never thought existed. However, the film didn’t exactly showcased much, it was very short (only 40+ minutes) which I suppose ultimately ended up affecting the film. I feel there was some fishes that were given too much screen time while others were given a simple glance at. The photography of the film was simply stunning (when is an IMAX film not stunning?), but once you get passed the initial awe some of the imagery and informational portions will either keep your attention or flat out bring some boredom.

The film does offer some incredible shots and views that many of us have never seen before. It does dig deep into the imagination when the film gives you something as far as material. Jim Carrey does a phenomenal job with the narration bringing in some of his humorous personality along which ends up benefiting the film. Perhaps this is what makes the entire feature enticing to sit through. If Jim Carrey would have been just a static narrator maybe this would have turned out differently. Obviously, with Carrey’s narration is clear that the film is aimed at that entire family.

IMAX: Under the Sea arrives on Blu-ray with a 1080i VC-1 encode framed at 1.78:1. IMAX: Under the Sea features a very nice looking transfer, colors are bold and vivid from the deep blue sea to the colorful life forms of the deep are a sight to see. Textures and details are exceptional just take a look around the sea life and count the scales of the fish, see the magnificent texture of the coral, and even see the texture of the sand. There is some flickering that occurs from time to time, but it can be easily overlooked by many. Overall Warner did a fantastic job.

IMAX: Under the Sea arrives on Blu-ray with a 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio lossless track. This track does full justice to the film. From the beginning you can expect to hear the waves of the sea crashing, the sounds in the depths of the ocean, the sudden movements of the predators, and some of interaction of the sea-life. Every little noise is very well reproduced throughout the film. Jim Carrey’s narration is reproduced without a hitch always clean, clear, and crisp. To top it all off the score that accompanies the film sounds magnificent. Overall this is a great sounding Blu-ray!

Contrary to what the box says about the supplements included in the film, there isn’t really much inside. The supplements listed may appear that there’s much to be shown, don’t be fooled, in reality they are lacking. Check below for a breakdown.

Filming IMAX: Under the Sea – This felt more like an extended preview or trailer it just wasn’t really much quality.

Expeditions – This is comprised of 5 sections which merely touch and show the different locations where the film was shot.

1. Papua New Guinea – New Britain
2. Papua New Guinea – Mine Bay
3. South Australia
4. The Great Barrier Reef
5. Indonesia

IMAX: Under the Sea was a film lacking something more, I often found myself a bit bored with some of the information. Jim Carrey added a bit of humor throughout the film and was not just reading of a boring script. The film features good video and audio transfers, but seriously lacks in the supplements department. I am sure some will find this title fit for them and the family and I encourage you at least give it a rent before thinking of buying.

The screen captures are only a small representation of what the Blu-ray looks like and are not representative of Blu-ray’s true quality.