Plot: What’s it about?
Love him or hate him, there’s no stopping James Cameron. He has directed two of the biggest Box Office films of all time. Clearly, he’s doing something right. It’s also clear that he can pretty much do whatever he wants at this point. That brings up to Deepsea Challenge. This Documentary explores the deepest part of the ocean. Cameron’s passion is evident early on. We get a much more technically-driven Documentary than one might expect. There’s a lot of time given to the actual building of the vessel that will be used on the mission to explore and search for any possible signs of alien life.
For those expecting some groundbreaking documentary, might be a bit disappointed. There’s very little payoff to be had. It might also help to have even a slight interest in this particular topic. I don’t possess that. This very thing just isn’t of interest to me. I found much of it to be fairly boring and simply waiting for it to end. We get a lot of footage of the team and Cameron discussing the deadline as well as the budget. It’s clear that he’s a hard worker and has high expectations of the people he works with. There’s even a moment when a crew member dies and there’s talk of the mission being called off altogether. It isn’t. For those curious, a rental would be the first step. I can’t imagine this being something that warrants a lot of replay value. The visuals are nice, but otherwise, I remain unmoved by much of it.
Video: How’s it look?
This set includes both 3D and regular versions. Since I don’t have 3D capabilities, only the regular version will be reviewed here. The image is quite stunning throughout. There’s a lot of footage of Cameron and his crew simply sitting around and talking, but the transfer is fine nonetheless. The underwater shots are very nice as well. The AVC encoded image displays a flawless print and fine details. Fans should be impressed. I imagine many will opt for the 3D version if equipped.
Audio: How’s it sound?
We get a solid Dolby TrueHD track here. There aren’t any issues to report; it sounds quite nice throughout. The rears kick in nicely during several of the underwater sequences, really adding to the experience. Dialogue is clear and well balanced. Vocals showed no issues. Fans will be impressed.
Supplements: What are the extras?
- The Deepest Point on Earth – Is only 3 minutes long and only provides minor behind the scenes details.
- An Alien World – At just over 2 minutes, don’t expect anything of importance. It just shows Cameron giving specifics about the mission. Yawn.
- Previews
- DVD Copy
