Sea Rex 3D: Journey to a Prehistoric World Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		1.0
Overall		3.5

Sea Rex 3D: Journey to a Prehistoric World Blu-ray Movie Review

T-Rex of the Sea? Steven Spielberg, eat your heart out...

Reviewed by Kenneth Brown November 18, 2011

A young woman visiting a Natural History museum and aquarium is stalked by the ghost of 19th century naturalist and father of paleontology, Georges Cuvier. No, it isn't the most ridiculous direct-to-video horror movie you've never heard of. (Although I'd cough up some cash to laugh my way through that one.) It's Sea Rex: Journey to a Prehistoric World, a 2010 IMAX documentary that packs in a fair amount of information in its 41-minutes. It's a solid doc, to be sure... if you can stomach its plucked-from-the-70s premise, ignore its near-animatronic performances and laughable historical recreations, and put up with Cuvier (Richard Rider, who sounds nothing like a Frenchman born Jean Léopold Nicolas Frédéric Cuvier) and his new museum haunt, Julie (a robotic Chloe Hollings), who's much older than Cuvier and directors Ronan Chapalain and Pascal Vuong treat her. Unfortunately, stomaching, ignoring and putting up with Sea Rex's shortcomings isn't as easy as it might sound.

Cue 'Jaws' theme song...

But no need to spend an entire review taking jabs at an IMAX documentary's story and performances. These short films are made for museum and science center consumption, and corniness and contrived accessibility come with the territory. After an introductory sequence in which Cuvier, alive and kicking in the late 18th century, examines an enormous fossilized skull unlike anything anyone has ever seen. It's a discovery that will reverberate through history, even if we aren't privy to what Cuvier and his colleagues did next. Instead, we leap forward through time to the present, where Cuvier's ghost appears to Julie and begins telling her about the Mesozoic Age, an Earth-altering period in pre-human history ruled by reptiles of all shapes, sizes and savagery. In rather rapid succession, Julie learns about flying pterosaurs, the long-necked Elasmosaurus and Tanystropheus, the powerful Rhomaleosaurus and Cryptoclidus, the carnivorous Plesiosaur and Tylosaurus, seabirds like the Ichthyornis, the turtle-like Henodus Chelyops, early ammonite mollusks, bony pachycormids, the dolphin-like Ophthalmosaurus, and the film's titular titan, the Monosaur, T-Rex of the Sea.

Sea Rex is loaded with scientific facts and musings, albeit of the all-ages-access variety. Kids will come away having learned the most, as the documentary dives into everything from Pangaea to the many theories surrounding the behaviors exhibited by the Monosaur and its reptilian brethren, but adults will be delighted to find themselves learning quite a few things too. To their credit, Chapalain and Vuong cover a lot of ground. The terrible age before terrible lizards rose to dominance, the sheer scale of the showcased creatures, their diets and habitats, the ways in which the world changed over the millennia, and the volatile upheavals that led these beasts of the sea from one period of Mesozoic history to the next. But, at the risk of harping on and on about the fiction weaved through the fact, Cuvier and Julie constantly get in the way of almost everything Chapalain and Vuong are trying to accomplish. Every IMAX doc needs a hook I suppose, but the story the directors and co-writer Richard Dowlearn deliver undermines more than it enhances. It doesn't help that the pair get so much screentime, especially when the Monosaur and nearly every other enormous reptile are given mere minutes apiece.

Such is the 40-minute IMAX documentary, though. Overeager speakers, so-so CG, and an occasional kiddie-kindergarten tone that will grate the nerves of at least two out of five adults. It doesn't help that Sea Rex is sometimes more akin to "Greatest Undersea Hits of the Mesozoic Age" than anything more substantial, as little time is spent in one place (or time). So set your expectations accordingly (lower if necessary) and take the plunge. If nothing else, you and your family will enjoy the 3D experience Universal's Blu-ray release has in store.

Sea Rex 3D: Journey to a Prehistoric World Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Sea Rex's 1080p/MVC-encoded video presentation can be viewed in 2D or 3D, meaning you don't need to own a 3D television and Blu-ray player to watch the film itself. Colors are bright and bold, underwater expanses are a beautiful blue, black levels are reasonably well-resolved (albeit a tad uneven), and contrast doesn't waver. Detail is excellent as well, especially when it comes to to Rex's CG creatures. Every scale, tooth and scar the artists rendered are present and accounted for, and only a hint of aliasing spoils the otherwise crisp, clean edges on display. The 3D experience is even more striking. Fish dart toward the viewer, seascapes stretch convincingly into the distance, giant reptiles seem to swim through the screen, and depth and dimensionality are engaging and lifelike (well, as lifelike as a CG-heavy IMAX doc can be). I didn't notice any ghosting (not that it matters much since ghosting is a product of individual displays and glasses), any major anomalies or anything that might overshadow the 3D presentation. My lone complaint is that banding is prevalent, particularly as the virtual camera pushes deeper and deeper into the ocean and darkness begins to mingle with the sun-streaked waters. I caught sight of some artifacting from time to time as well, but it never developed into a full-blown issue. (At least not one that's any cause for concern.) All things considered, Sea Rex looks great and its 3D experience manages to transform an average IMAX documentary into a decent 3D treat.

Sea Rex 3D: Journey to a Prehistoric World Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Sea Rex features an unexpectedly involving DTS-HD High Resolution 5.1 surround track that submerges listeners into the tumultuous oceans of the Mesozoic Age. Water surges, waves pound, and sound pulses beneath the seas with at-times startling aggression. Rear speaker activity comes on a touch strong, a point of contention that may leave a few immobile audiophiles grumbling, but the never-ending stream of directional and atmospheric effects in the mix help make the 3D experience that much more three-dimensional. LFE output doesn't disappoint either, granting the Monosaur and other giant beasts the weight and presence they deserve. Dynamics, dialogue and narration are on point as well, and there really isn't anything out of sorts. Some minor prioritization mishaps, perhaps. But nothing more significant than that.

Sea Rex 3D: Journey to a Prehistoric World Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Seven minutes of extras round out the disc, including a brief featurette, an even briefer series of interviews and a promo for the film. Nothing more, nothing less, nothing special.

Sea Rex 3D: Journey to a Prehistoric World Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

As an IMAX documentary, Sea Rex: Journey to a Prehistoric World is pretty standard fare. As a 3D release, it's much better. Universal's Blu-ray edition boasts a solid video transfer, a fun and involving 3D experience, and a carnivorous DTS-HD High Resolution 5.1 surround track. A paltry seven minutes of extras fails to add anything worthwhile into the mix, but fans of IMAX museum fodder will be pleased with their purchase, especially if they have any young grade schoolers roaming around the house searching for something educational to devour.