Aliens of the Deep

[StevePulaski]

Aliens of the Deep (2007)
Directed by: James Cameron and Steven Quale

James Cameron in Aliens of the Deep.

Rating: ★★½

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.