Matialth
Good concept, poorly executed.
Lollivan
It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.
Yash Wade
Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.
Horst in Translation (filmreviews@web.de)
"Sea Rex 3D: Journey to a Prehistoric World" is a 40-minute short documentary movie from over 5 years ago written and directed by Ronan Chapalain and Pascal Vuong. So it is a mostly a French production, even if there is also an American impact, mostly with the entire thing being in English. What I liked the most about it is that there is a clean introduction to the whole matter when we find out how short human existence is compared to everything that was before. On a negative side I thought the whole staged situation with the woman asking him questions in France a couple centuries ago was pretty awkward. But the film also shows that no famous actor narrator is needed to make such a documentary work. You can definitely learn something from it, but you should make sure you get English subtitles unless you're a native as the contents are really difficult to understand at times. If you do, this can be a rewarding watch and I am usually not even too interested in the subject. The animation is also nicely done, but the film does not rely on it, which is not always the case with these documentaries. Thumbs up. Check it out.
vollawetscher
Hunting for new 3D releases (there are too few good ones actually) this Bluray was recommended to me by a salesperson in the store. I was positively surprised. Unlike other cheap 3D productions trying to jump on the bandwagon for a few quick bucks this Bluray has a good script, excellent 3D animations as well as educational value. My kids liked the way how the earths history has been graphically presented. The script and expert statements are good. It leaves you with this awe on how little we actually know about earths development and history. And obviously: More than 99% of all species that ever lived on the planet are extinct today.
pendletonparker
Poorly organized storyline to present another CGI-heavy IMAX experience never even utilizes the use 15/70 during production of the film. I found the factotum slides before the feature more engaging. I knew fully well that the film probably wasn't going to be magnificent, as I normally avoid CGI films. Did not have 3D capability at my home theater, so a lot of the shots wound up grainy, fuzzy, and tough on the eyes. The historic representation of 18th-century skull discovery, though important, seems too scattered through the film, you wind up confused. Granted, I fell asleep for about 5 minutes in the middle of the movie, but I became exhausted. sitting debating whether or not to leave. If an IMAX presentation is included in your museum admittance, and this is the only one showing, try to find something else to do. Just my opinion...
DICK STEEL
My triple IMAX slam ended with Sea Rex: Journey to a Prehistoric World in 2D (instead of 3D, since the Science Centre Omni Theatre doesn't come with 3D projection), and to my surprise, this happens to be the most popular amongst all the films currently showing at the venue. I suppose one just can't get enough of monsters and creatures of all shapes and sizes, and we have Jurassic Park to thank for that boost in dino-interest amongst parents who have watched that film, and their young to whom they must have introduced it to as well.Directed by Ronan Chapalain and Pascal Vuong, Sex Rex treks back to the prehistoric ages where dinosaurs roamed the earth in the various pre and post Jurassic eras, where the narrative follows a certain student Julie (Chloe Hollings) who meets the spirit of famed paleontologist Georges Cuvier (Richard Rider), and the question of course is why she didn't freak out when this happens in the very silent hours and areas of the aquarium-museum she was in. In any case they strike up a conversation, with Cuvier being the educator for her, and us the audience, into understanding a little bit more of the creatures that once ruled Earth before the coming of the homo-sapiens.Granted there were enough snazzy computer graphics that serve to visually appeal to the young and old alike at succinctly explaining evolution of the prehistoric eras, and through the recreation of what would be poor cousin renditions of the various creatures, but what ultimately make this a failure in my books, is in trying to play it like a straight documentary, when it certainly isn't. I'm fine with having actors portray characters from the past, but to try and seamlessly mix documentary like, educational content with fictional people given statuses from academia and not clarifying that these are indeed characters and not people, I felt that the line had been crossed, especially if this film has any inkling of objectives to be serving as a platform for research and exploration for the young. And to add to it, the actors were really bad and made this film pass off as quite cheap.And given that experience, it would have tanked all shreds of credibility this film had in trying to recreate behavioral patterns, as well as look and feel of the creatures, since it had taken a lot of liberties and creative license in crafting of the film, that any traces of truth in trying to convince that could be how the creatures behaved. are now taken with a huge pinch of salt. As such, a documentary this isn't, and as a fictional tale, this one passes off as a mediocre effort, made worse when it didn't even try to milk the IMAX capability it got presented in.
