3D Blu-ray Movie Reviews

Imagine a world of incredible color and beauty. Of crabs wearing jellyfish for hats. Of fish disguised as frogs, stones and shag carpets. Of a kaleidoscope of life dancing and weaving, floating and darting in an underwater wonderland. Now, go explore it! Howard Hall and his filmmaking team, who brought you "Deep Sea" and "Into the Deep", take you into tropical waters alive with adventure: the Great Barrier Reef and other South Pacific realms. Narrated by Jim Carrey and featuring astonishing camerawork, this amazing film brings you face to fin with Nature's marvels, from the terrible grandeur (and terrible teeth) of a Great White to the comic antics of a lovestruck cuttlefish. Excitement and fun run deep "Under The Sea".

IMAX cameras capture considerably more resolution than the traditional 35mm cameras mainly used to shoot films today. While there have been quite a few IMAX films released on Blu-ray, many lack the jaw dropping quality they should exude. This is one of the better presentations I’ve seen of an IMAX film, and the 3D aspect only adds to it. The only issue I had was the focal point of the image. Sometime there are multiple layers to the 3D and it becomes difficult to figure out where to focus, which caused some mild fatigue. This feature has some of the most impressive 3D sequences for coming out of the screen with some of the marine life coming mere inches from your face! Depth is solid and I loved the rich color and fine detail in close up shots. There are some minor digital artifacts that look like subtle aliasing, but it was hardly distracting. The soundtrack is presented in DTS-HD Master Audio and has its moments. IMAX is just as much about audio as it is video so they made sure to add some dynamics to the mix. Surrounds add a nice sense of envelopment and the film’s score really opens up the main soundstage.

Extras include a look at shooting the film and a breakdown of the different locales used throughout the production. You also get the 2D version of the film for standard playback as well.

The IMAX photography added some eye popping detail to this presentation and there are some sequences here where the 3D has to be seen to be believed. While there was some minor fatigue from viewing, this is still one of the best demo pieces out there for the new format.