Aliens of the Deep

2005
6.3| 1h35m| G| en| More Info
Released: 28 January 2005 Released
Producted By: Walt Disney Pictures
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
Info

James Cameron teams up with NASA scientists to explore the Mid-Ocean Ridge, a submerged chain of mountains that band the Earth and are home to some of the planet's most unique life forms.

Genre

Documentary

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Aliens of the Deep (2005) is now streaming with subscription on Disney+

Director

James Cameron, Steven Quale

Production Companies

Walt Disney Pictures

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Aliens of the Deep Audience Reviews

Tedfoldol everything you have heard about this movie is true.
Adeel Hail Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.
Griff Lees Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.
Kamila Bell This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.
Steve Pulaski NOTE: This is a review of the theatrical, forty-seven minute cut of James Cameron and Steven Quale's Aliens of the Deep, not the ninety-nine minute version released on DVD.Director James Cameron, the director of Avatar and Titanic, the two highest-grossing motion pictures ever made, has always had a fascination with science, space exploration, and the unknown, which makes him the logical person to make Aliens of the Deep, a forty-seven minute, theatrically-released documentary concerning underwater space exploration. Cameron and a crew of highly-qualified explorers and marine biologists justify underwater exploration by the idea that it would help understand the limitlessness of outer space and implore that we must discover the relatively unexplored ocean floor before we can begin exploring space.For this brief documentary, Cameron and company take us deep underwater, in small submarines to explore the creatures that live deep in the treacherous oceans. Cameron, his co-director Steven Quale, who went on to direct such disaster films as Final Destination 5 and Into the Storm, and two additional cinematographers Vince Pace and Ron Allum photograph this film evocatively, exploiting the ocean for its natural beauty by showing the magnificent creatures within its ecosystem. In addition, editors Matthew Kregor and Fiona Wight - undoubtedly working off of Cameron's influence - construct this film as if it's a work of fiction, splicing in narrations and cohesive, story-like pacing to the film, adding an unexpected layer of tidiness.The film works up until we listen to the interactions between the biologists, the doctors, and Cameron, which sound perfunctory to say the least, as if they're complimenting the aforementioned narrative qualities of the film. Their comments often sound sarcastic or too quick to joke, making them unnatural and not the realistic thing certain individuals would say under these situations. It's as if Cameron and company didn't think people would appreciate a lot of scientific jargon, so they simplified the story and the dialog in such a way that DisneyNature films often give their animal characters celebrity voices to humanize their lives and actions.Aliens of the Deep is an interesting stepping stone for someone looking to exercise their love for underwater exploration, marine biology, or simply the thrill of the unknown, but its editing structure and pacing make its peer and situational authenticity highly questionable.Directed by: James Cameron and Steven Quale.
andres_canella Science fiction aficionados were crushed when James Cameron's Titanic soared both critically and in the box office. Sore that the director of Terminator, Aliens and True Lies would turn to a historical romance flick, fans were quick to find a new science fiction film by the Canadian director would not come for a long while. His new love was the sea, and riding on the success of the terrific (yes, I said it) Titanic, he went on to direct documentary features on the Bismarck and a return to the Titanic. When Aliens of the Deep was announced, initial hopes seemed to tie the title to science fiction. This new Aliens is actually another undersea exploration documentary made for IMAX dealing with the fantastic creatures that live in the depths of the Atlantic and Pacific; creatures that live without sunlight and feed off the heat of volcanic activity. The prospect of strange animals and Cameron's expert directorial skills are an attractive combination that leads to one of the biggest documentary letdowns of the year.Originally shown in IMAX theaters, Aliens of the Deep takes marine biologists and NASA scientists to the very depths of the Atlantic and the Pacific. The footage of undersea volcanic activity and the creatures that live without sunlight are awe-inspiring. In fact, the images of satin-like creatures made me go "wow" more than once; this was a reaction I realized was not required, as the marine biologists and NASA scientists were saying the same things on film. One would think a marine biologist might try to explain to viewers what kinds of creatures are on screen, to attempt to demystify the creatures and lend a sense of documentary to the film. Unfortunately, the constant "wows" and "oohs" by Cameron's crew are akin to the reactions seen in Saturday morning kids documentaries on how equipment at construction yards work. For the brief 45 minutes of film, only a minute portion is dedicated to showing the magnificent creatures, and barely any is given in trying to scientifically explain what they are.Aliens of the Deep ends with the hope that missions such as these on Earth will advance technology to deal with extreme conditions on other planets. The quick shift in focus from those deep-sea creatures to a project proposal for a mission to Europa is confusing and not conducive to the structure of the "documentary". While space travel is an intriguing subject, the purpose of this film was to document some little-before-seen animals in our seas, and not speculate on what could or could not be found on distant planets. In the end, Aliens of the Deep would have made for a decent hour-long special on the Discovery network, but shows little promise as a documentary feature. Those interested in marine biology will find little value in Cameron's latest besides some stunning imagery. Those used to entertaining and informative documentaries will also be disappointed by this outing. (4/10 Below Average)
Ryan J. Gilmer James Cameron does a bang up job on the cool looking IMAX-3D adventure to the depths of the sea and beyond.The futuristic aspect and effects get to be a bit much, but otherwise it is enjoyable, educational, brief, and somewhat enlightening.Effects--> the computer rendered graphics of aliens was a bad way to end the film, but that is Cameron's own belief/touch. One cannot fault him for what he truly believes in and the effects aren't bad in a cheesy way, just a different way to end an educational film (not really a spoiler since aliens are on the poster and in the preview).Brief--> All IMAX (except for feature length Hollywood) are short, with the ending it probably was short enough, but could have been longer with more oceanographic footage (an interesting note is that DVDs of IMAX movies seem to have extended versions) Which begs the question of if they are going to charge $30 or so for the DVD and you get extended footage, why spend $8-15 to see a cool documentary like flick on the IMAX 70mm screen? For the most part IMAX is the only place for 3D and thus a reason to pop down the dough. Plus a lot of Zoos and other institutions of education which show films like this tend to have giveaways of the movies official posters and such, so supporting them and possibly winning merchandise is an additional incentive for the decent to very good experience.
dgreen2-2 This movie had phenomenal 3D effects which rather than serving as a distraction or a novelty served to enhance my enjoyment. At the bottom of the Atlantic we find that in the absence of light life can be supported by heat - heat on the ocean floor with temperatures in excess of 700 degrees generated by underwater chimneys. Despite these extreme conditions many varied and beautiful life forms are found in abundance. In addition to exploring underwater sea life this movie includes a glimpse into the possibilities of discovering life on another planet's moons. The graphics demonstrated one way that a deep space probe could penetrate 3 to 16 miles of a moon's frozen exterior. I highly recommend this movie.