7.4 | / 10 |
Users | 4.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
For nearly 200 million years while dinosaurs roamed the Earth, the seas teemed with some of the most awe-inspiring ocean creatures of all time. Sea Monsters, a National Geographic Giant Screen film, is an entertaining journey into prehistoric oceans. Inter-cutting between the animated story and the reenactments of fossil discoveries combine the appeal of "Indiana Jones" with the CGI that brings these prehistoric monsters to life. Perfect for the whole family.
Narrator: Liev SchreiberDocumentary | 100% |
Nature | 87% |
Animation | 77% |
Short | 35% |
Video codec: VC-1
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
English: Dolby Digital 5.1
English: Dolby Digital 2.0
English, English SDH
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Anaglyph 3D
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 0.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Almost every kid goes through a dinosaur phase, a brief window of awe and wonder when backyards can be transformed into T-Rex stomping grounds and swimming pools become haunts for monsters of the deep. These flights of imagination are usually supported by a host of arcane facts—dino trivia if you will—and in my third grade class there was an elite group of junior brainiacs who knew the average neck length of Plesiosaurs, the stride distance of Velociraptors, and scoffed at kids who thought the Brontosaurus was a real dinosaur. “It was an Apatosaurus with a misidentified skull…duh.” For this cadre of pint-sized dino-enthusiasts, National Geographic was a hallowed source of info. Those who had parents with subscriptions to the yellow-fringed magazine shared the contents during recess with protective reverence. We were too young still to gape at the topless tribal women—weird, we would say—but the articles on paleontology enraptured us, and we picked through them for facts like fossil hunters combing the bone-strewn plains of Kansas. If we had gone on a field trip to the nearest IMAX to catch Sea Monsters on the big, big screen, I’m sure we would’ve flipped. The film brings prehistoric, aquatic creatures to life though the magic of CGI, and offers up a platter of scientific particulars that would satisfy even the most discerning of grade-school dinophiles.
This re-release includes the 2-D and 3-D versions of the film, both receiving 1080p/AVC-encoded
transfers. The 2-D version is obviously preferable from a purely video quality perspective, with a
crisp, clean IMAX image. Colors are deep and pleasingly saturated—the prevalent blues really
shine—and solid black levels give the otherwise 2-D image some vibrant dimensional pop. The
film is tack-sharp too, with no cheap tricks like edge enhancement to muddle the look. The
sequences shot on film are similarly impressive, featuring that big, bold IMAX look that revels in
clarity and resolution, with the thinnest layer of grain to add some warmth to the image. The CGI
isn't the most stunning I've seen, but it's all rendered smoothly, with no video hiccups or
compression artifacts. It should be noted that the original IMAX aspect ratio has been cropped
down to 1.78:1, but this is of little detriment and allows the film to fully fill out your
TV.
The 3-D version is expectedly diminished in quality, not due to any fault of the transfer, but
simply because the anaglyphic, red and blue glasses rob the image of clarity and color. You'll
probably want to bump up the brightness of your display—a disclaimer on the disc recommends
"Standard" instead of "Cinema" mode—but the image is never going to look as good as a RealD
presentation. You'll notice some blurry double-vision, especially if you sit too close to your display,
and much of the vivid color of the 2-D version is muddled and desaturated in three dimensions. I
don't expect the target audience to be hardcore videophiles, though, and the 3-D wow factor will
be enough to impress most kids.
While not as impressive as the film's PQ, Sea Monsters' Dolby Digital 5.1 surround track serves its purpose well. Peter Gabriel's score is the most prevalent element of the mix, and it fills every channel with dynamic arrangements and a fairly wide spread between speakers, allowing individual instruments to pop in and out with some interesting directionality. Though there are some bubbles and gurgles in the rears—along with some swooshes and panned swim-bys—most of the ambient audio does seem front-centric. Liev Schreiber's narration is mostly clear and clean, though there are a few instances when the watery sound effects drown him out a bit (har har).
Interactive Timeline
This timeline is actually pretty low on interactivity, but you can explore the Triassic, Jurassic, Early
Cretaceous, and Late Cretaceous periods by clicking on a map, viewing the animals that lived during
each era, and reading a little bit about them. Kids won't have the patience though, and neither will
most adults.
Along with three brief informational videos about National Geographic, the disc also includes SD
trailers for March of the Penguins, Arctic Tale, Sky Monsters, and the
Sea Monsters video game.
Today's kids take this CGI business for granted. I remember I almost died when watching Jurassic Park, I was that awe-struck. So, your kid's interest in Sea Monsters may vary depending on his or her love of dinosaurs and familiarity with more impressive CGI fare from the likes of Pixar. There's a certain caliber of kid who'll just eat this stuff up, though, and for them, Sea Monsters will be like manna from heaven. It's definitely on the short side, but it does strike a nice balance between informative and fun. Plus, what kid doesn't love 3-D?
IMAX
2007
2010
IMAX 3D
2008
2006
2013
The Original UK Series
2011
IMAX
2007
2001
IMAX
2008
BBC / Narrated by David Attenborough
2009
IMAX
2006
2011
IMAX Enhanced
2002
IMAX
2009
The Complete Series
2006
BBC
2011
2014
IMAX
1995
2013
IMAX
2000