Coral Reef Adventure (2003) Reviews

• Great Music & Message re: the Coral Reefs.

  rustypics2004-08-23

  We (my wife and I) really enjoyed this documentary movie on the fragile coral reefs. As this is in the IMAX format you really feel like your are diving in the South Pacific or the Caribbean. We are occasional scuba divers and snorkelers and have always loved the magnificent hues of coral reef waters. So anyone with similar interests should see this documentary as it makes a strong message about the reefs and shows the beauty we all may lose if left unprotected. The colors are very vibrant and the surround sound is just another benefit added to the great musical score by Crosby, Stills, & Nash! You'll go home singing all those classics from their Deja Vu album from the late 60's!

  More

• beautiful and disappointing

  jamesand-12004-06-24

  The shots are beautiful. The not so subtle message is not. This movie had the potential to be great art, but fails miserably because of the preachy ness of its message. It is worth seeing because of the footage of under water beauty. The images of the dying reefs are powerful enough without the politicized sermon. A few words of explanation would have been more than enough, but in the end we are left with propaganda instead of art. One scene contains images of several small children with earnest expressions as the narrator tells us explicitly that the children depend upon a healthy reef. I found myself rolling my eyes as I was hit over the head with "the message". I care about children, but this scene tries too hard causing it to fail. Instead of being engaged by the movie I found it very disappointing.

  More

• Coral Reef Adventure.... Global Warming in the study with a candlestick

  juliankennedy232009-05-10

  Coral Reef Adventure: 3 out of 10: Do you like pretty pictures? Do you hate Global Warming (boo hiss)? Do you like the music of Crosby Stills and Nash? Let me repeat that last question again because this is very very important.... Do you really like Crosby Stills and Nash music? Even if it is remixed and sung by starving children to a Peter Gabriel back up band? Then you might enjoy Global Reef Adventure. Everyone else above 12 should check there eyeballs before watching, as rolling them this much could cause permanent damage. This is the story of a husband and wife team who investigate the death of a village’s reef in Fiji. It turns out the villain was.... Hold on before I give away the big surprise let me explain a few things. My girlfriend and I had just finished watching John Hurt in Michael Radford’s Nineteen Eighty-Four and I put this documentary on because I thought a nice short colorful coral reef film might be nice after such a grey depressing movie. (Plus a piece of coral was a feature object in the former drab film so I was going for a subtle synergy). Little did I know I was putting on a piece of propaganda so heavy handed that Big Brother himself would have blushed. Look no matter how you feel about global warming the villain in this piece was clearly those nice Fijians who were logging and overfishing and killed their own damn reef. The movie clearly shows this and then completely ignores its own findings to declare global warming the boogey man (Though in this particular case it was obviously innocent. As local reefs not near the GIANT SILT RUNNOFF and not located IN THE FISHING GROUNDS were thriving.) But the Fijians can’t be guilty of course cause the look so cute in their Sunday best and they have quite a haunting rendition of Marrakesh Express. Such propaganda, no matter how well intentioned, needs to be called to the carpet. In particular when it is aimed towards children. The film has other faults as well. It is over produced by half with wipes and sound effects that look like they belong in a Disney Ducktales movie. Top billed Liam Neeson narrates for all of a minute and top billed Jean-Michel Cousteau appears for about as long. It probably isn’t that bad a film with the mute on. For one thing you would miss the appeal at the end to support politicians who hate global warming (boo hiss). Apparently 2 plus 2 does sometimes equal 5.

  More

• Great IMAX film!... Amazing filmography...

  superdave9132003-09-01

  This film has beautiful images to share. The movie was well produced with a great use of music with the different shots. The movie did get a little "environmental", but it was to be expected. I also think they could have chosen better music than Crosby, Stills and Nash. Overall I would highly recommend seeing it if you have the opportunity. It is educational and breathtaking.

  More

• "A great environmental documentary"

  simon-trek2004-04-22

  This film gives a beautiful display of how wondrous and beautiful the worlds coral reefs are. It also shows how the worlds coral reefs are dying. The reefs are dying for a number of reasons. 1. Over fishing, because fish eat the alga that grows over the coral, and will engulf the coral if there are no fish to eat it. 2. is because of global warming. If the ocean gets too warm the will not be able to withstand the warmth and will gradually die out. 3. Is because of pollution. The pollution can come from a number places. It could come from sewerage dumped into the sea, it could from rivers that have turned muddy because of tree logging. Also the removal of mangrove trees, because mangrove trees help to consume the pollution and prevent it from reaching the sea. This film shows not only the Great Barrier Reef, it also takes you the coral reefs of tropical island such as Fiji Tahiti and Bora Bora. For some of the Fijian people, the reefs provide much more than just a beautiful paradise they also provide food because of all the sea creatures that live there. So if the reefs were to die, many Fijians could starve. So the basic morals this film teaches is how beautiful and important the worlds coral reefs are and that they could all die in the next three decades unless we do something about it.

  More