Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		3.0
Audio		3.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		2.0

Shark Divers: Documentary Collection Blu-ray Movie Review

Great whites and tigers and whale sharks and mantas (insert obligatory and corny 'oh my!' here).

Reviewed by Martin Liebman July 7, 2012

The bigger and more dangerous the shark, the better.

Name it, and it probably has some reality television show or some religious-like following of fans, people who just can't absorb enough information on it, or some curious collective who are drawn in to learn more about a subject for whatever reason, based off of whatever exposure. Maybe it's dinosaurs, perhaps it's astronomy, but for many people it's sharks. Unlike dinosaurs that vanished millions of years ago or stars which exist millions of miles away, sharks are only a boat ride and a dive from first-hand contact. What's so fascinating about these extra-large creatures from the deep? Jaws certainly has something to do with it. Or perhaps it's something a little more inspirational, like Soul Surfer. Maybe it's news coverage, the thrill of danger-close, or mere amazement at the biology, the study of what is perhaps the ocean's most feared creature, the dominant species of the other part of the earth's covering. Sharks are certainly an attraction for many, and Shark Divers efforts to take viewers closer than ever before to the feared species, to both show man's interaction with beast and examine some of the top varieties of shark that are fit for study, pleasure watching, and thrill seeking around the world's waters.

Watcha gonna do when they come for you?

After a fairly disastrous opening episode that's knee-deep in distracting reality television flavoring, Shark Divers' following three outings settle in nicely to a more comfortable, but still fairly energetic and always-moving, documentary styling that emphasizes facts and figures and photography over a worn-down reality style. The series, beyond its first episode where the people seem as much the draw as the sharks, settles in for some amazing up-close-and-personal looks at some of the world's most impressive aquatic creatures. There's plenty of scientific insights, too, but the bread-and-butter comes in the shape of some impressive visuals that show viewers sharks like they've seen them before, but just seeing them is enough to make a lasting impression and a worthwhile show. There's something of a repetitive cadence to the structure of every episode -- perceptive viewers will even spot a few recycled shots -- as the show moves from the ocean to the lab and to either an aquarium or a resort for a look at the creatures in captivity. Still, it's adequate entertainment and does well to serve the novice shark watcher, the casual channel-flipper, and the armchair enthusiast alike. It's not the end-all, be-all shark documentary, but Shark Divers fills a niche and fills it well.

Shark Divers

Shark Divers focuses in on the thrill-seekers who venture into the waters of the Northern Bahamas and Mexico's Guadalupe Island in search of close-encounters with Tiger Sharks and Great Whites. The early part of the feature focuses in on experts and tourists -- even children -- who suit up and dive in for an up-close-and-personal visit with some of the most feared predators in the world, and oftentimes without the safety of the cage to protect them; here's hoping they don't end up permanently swimming with the fishes, or permanently maimed from the experience. The show also includes those who speak out against shark diving, the process of collecting scientific samples from sharks, and a look at Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta, where people may view sharks first-hand and up-close safely from outside the tank or, should they choose, inside of it, diving in to a safer, more controlled environment for a low-risk thrill of a lifetime.

Shark Business

As the title suggests, this piece focuses more on the business of shark diving than it does the people who dive or even the creatures they seek. Several key areas are studied, beginning with what is referred to as the "holy grail" of shark diving locales, The Cape of Good Hope. It's a treacherous body of water but home to the Great White shark, and diving tourism fuels the local economy. Walker's Key in Florida, The Bahamas' New Providence, and Canada's Hornby Island, the latter home to the otherwise deep-dwelling and elusive Six-Gill shark, are highlighted. The program also emphasizes shark attacks and public fear fueled by Jaws and 2001's "Summer of the Shark" news stories. Also highlighted is the ineffective Florida ban on shark baiting, a failed effort to reduce the number of attacks on humans. Also included is a look at the shark attractions at Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas.

Gentle Giants

They may be the largest, most imposing sharks in the world's waters -- they weigh more than thirty tons and are as long as a city bus -- but they're also amongst the safest when it comes to human close-up study. They eat only the ocean's tiniest creatures and were not discovered until the mid-19th century, despite indications that they've been around for nearly 60 million years. They are "Whale Sharks," an incredible species that's all the rage with both amateur and professional shark divers as well as researchers. Gentle Giants examines Mexico's Hobash Islands and Western Australia's Whale Shark tourism with a look back at the accomplishments of Dr. Geoff Taylor, the Australian "father of Whale Shark tourism." Also featured is the study of four growing Whale Sharks held in captivity, the daily routine of sustaining them, and the use of modern technology in the pursuit of expanding the knowledge base surrounding the ocean's "gentle giant."

Giants of San Benedicto

Like the Whale Shark, the massive Manta Ray coexists with human visitors a bit more cordially than the Great White or the Tiger Shark. Rays are "modified sharks" that have developed brains larger than any other fish. But Rays remains something of a mysterious creature, and they're top draws for both diving tourists and scientific researchers alike. Giants of San Benedicto takes a look at the Ray's interactions with both man and other aquatic beings. The film examines the technology used to study the creatures, tracking their movements and understanding their biology, which is also producing advances in medicine. They're a hit attraction at the Atlantis Resort and Casino, but they're also an endangered species.

Shark Divers: Documentary Collection Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Shark Divers arrives on Blu-ray with an adequate but never dazzling high definition transfer. The focus of Mill Creek's image comes in the underwater sequences, where a slight murkiness is expected, but there's an evident stability, clarity, and ease of vision to such scenes. Detail on close-ups of creatures, the sandy sea floor, and divers suffices. Underwater, colors appear much as do the details; they're limited to cloudy blues, gray fish exteriors, tan sea floors, and a few splashes of brighter hues breaking up black wetsuits. Above the water, viewers will find a bump in detailing. The image still features that mid-grade, somewhat flat, slightly glossy HD style picture quality, but faces, clothes, wooden accents on boats, and scratches and dents on well-worn surfaces all appear as crisply as they should considering a source of this nature. Colors also enjoy a bump in stability and variety, delivering an HDTV-average collection of hues that replicate real life adequately enough. Slight banding and minor blocking are evident across some backgrounds -- mostly underwater -- and there's not much else in the way of eyesores. This is a stable, highly watchable image that won't dazzle Blu-ray enthusiasts but that should satisfy casual audiences.

Shark Divers: Documentary Collection Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Shark Divers features a serviceable, but sonically vanilla, DTS-HD MA 2.0 lossless soundtrack. Narration can be slightly boomy at times, but dialogue is fairly even and comes through with consistent baseline clarity, presence, volume, and center-focus. The program features some energized music that doesn't absolutely pass for perfect; clarity is sometimes a hair iffy and spacing isn't seamless across the front, but generally the music suffices, whether heavier beats or gentler notes. Rolling water off to the sides of boats, light splashes, and heavier crashing waves all play with adequate presence, energy, and sonic accuracy. There's little else to this track; it's the sort that's meant to be heard rather than dissected. It won't be mistaken for a top-tier film soundtrack, but it gets general effects, music, and the critical dialogue and narration to the listener with no perceptible hitch.

Shark Divers: Documentary Collection Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Shark Divers contains no supplemental content.

Shark Divers: Documentary Collection Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Shark Divers relies a bit too much on reality television stylings and modern herky-jerky motion that's meant to keep audiences with an attention span shorter than three seconds entertained. Traditional Documentary fans will probably want to skip out on this one, but viewers who want to mix some learning with some entertaining could do worse than Shark Divers. The photography's great, the insights smart, and the show well-paced. Mill Creek's Blu-ray release of Shark Divers features sufficient video and audio qualities. No extras are included. Recommended for shark lovers.