Starring James Cameron, Mike Cameron, Scientists, Critters
Written By:
Directed By: James Cameron, Steven Quale
Studio: Disney/ Buena Vista
Buy on Amazon.com

Originally featured exclusively in IMAX Theaters, Aliens of The Deep now comes directly to your home, with Director and Science lover James Cameron, and a group of NASA scientists. Exploring the depths of the Atlantic and Pacific, Cameron and crew journey to places few have gone, and the images and places they venture off to are astounding.

With growing technology, scientists can experiment and investigate all depths of the world, and with this, James Cameron has gone out to sea again, with Aliens of the Deep. From his past excursions of exploring the Titanic, and the Bismarck, James Cameron wanted to take his exploring to a new level with uncharted territories in the Atlantic and Pacific. What they found down on the ocean floor is amazing to say the least. Creatures around hydrothermal vent sites were really cool to check out. Giant squid, six feet tall worms with red tips at the end, and other sea creatures hardly seen before was like watching a whole new world unravel in front of your eyes. What also is intriguing, these species can exist on their own without sunlight, unlike the rest of life forms on earth. Pitch black 3,000 feet below the ocean surface and there is a whole species of living organisms existing down below. It makes you wonder whether this is a connection to other planets and how they could possibly exist out in deep space. I find it hard to imagine a fish that can swim one second through an extremely hot vent to the other extreme in ice cold water. I was looking for the fish to explode in front of your eyes. While James Cameron is an excellent director and host, the young scientists of NASA were eager and also enjoyable to watch. It was great to check out the comrade of the crew, while they explore the ocean floor and chat back and forth. You really can see the excitement in their faces as they have seen in person what most people will never see.

I prefer to watch the extended version of the film, which is double the length of the IMAX feature. I saw the film in the IMAX theaters, and while it was great to see, watching the extended cut was much better and more enjoyable. It enables you to get into the story of the crew discovering these sea creatures, as well as getting to know the crew better. You didn’t get that in the IMAX version as much. I really liked how they improvise so close to their first launch where their A-frame crane broke. This would prevent the submersibles from getting back onto the ship, so leave it to the Cameron’s (all three of em) to devise a plan to cut out a section out of the side of the ship to help raise and lower the submersibles in and out of the ship. It was pretty cool to check out.

Looking back, the film was my first IMAX movie and loved it. I enjoyed it so much more on DVD, even though it wasn’t 3-D like IMAX. Crystal clear images and extended footage gave the viewer a better understanding of what James Cameron and the scientists wanted to accomplish. It will be great to see what James Cameron explores next.

Features:
New Extended Version of Aliens of the Deep

Audio:
ENGLISH: Dolby Digital 5.1

Video:
Widescreen 1.78:1 Color (Anamorphic)

Subtitles:
Spanish, French

Favorite Scenes: The first dives, Plan B, Europa
Rating: G
Running Time: 99 minutes
Extras Rating:
Overall Rating: