Oceans (2010)

For all the hype it got I was expecting a lot more!

Ok... Let's be honest. It cannot be the best movie but is quite enjoyable. The movie has the potential to develop a great plot for future movies

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

Pierce Brosnan narrates this ecologically sensitive nature film. He has a nice soothing voice. It starts with a bunch of kids running out onto the beach. One boy stops and Brosnan says he asked, "What exactly is the ocean?" The film concentrates almost entirely on wonderful visuals of sea creatures living, swimming, fighting, eating, and surviving. It doesn't exactly explain the ocean but the wonderful creatures don't need explaining. Some of them are beautiful to looking. The voracity of the battles for life is engrossing. The lobster pounding on the crab is vicious. The mass of spider crabs is awe-inspiring. The schools of fish are hypnotic. At around the one hour mark, the movie touches on the devastation from pollution and over-fishing. It is worth noting that there seems to be some cutting back of that section. I certainly hope that Disney or some middle east interest did not effect the product. This follows a line of recent nature films with amazing visual footage.

Pierce Brosnan's sickly sweet, schmaltzy narration is the nail in the coffin for this abysmal waste. The film has no coherence and seems to want to present itself as a fairytale like dance with humanity as the wicked witch, sea life the ingenue desperately trying to escape its clutches. It's such a waste that so much effort, talent and breathtaking imagery can just be flittered away in such a pointless dramatisation when the images speak for themselves. Not recommended for anyone, certainly not the children which are Disney's usual target, far superior alternatives already exist. Avoid or watch in French with no subtitles.

Jacques Perrin and Jacques Cluzaud direct this documentary about marine life with beautiful images of underwater life. You may see something like this on the National Geographic channel, which downgrades the originality of the picture but Brosnan provides excellent narration and these kind of images never die in our minds and it is always lovely to see them again. The nature curious will certainly find something to love and others should to. It's a relaxing meditation and is perfect for kids or adults. The best part is that the film remains a humble length and resists growing ploys for self-indulgence. Only the unnecessary prologue narrative is a bit annoying. Other than that, a bulls eye.

An earlier review made me chuckle: "...every once in a while, you might just pinch yourself to see if those beautiful images are really real or created with a green screen. Of course, no CG effect could ever replicate nature's beauty." Tell that to the 57 crew for the film credited with one of the following: -digital artist -digital compositor -digital effects artist -head of CG environment Mikros -head of render farm -head of software -head of VFX studio -matte painter -modeling/texture artist -render farm operator -rotoscope artist -visual effect supervisor -visual effects coordinator -visual effects producer -visual effects production assistant -visual effects supervisor