Search - Water Life: The Big Blue [Blu-ray] on Blu-ray

A worthy attempt to portray aquatic habitats

D. J. Nardi | Washington, DC | 12/01/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Water Life is a very good documentary and probably the best I've seen in a long time that wasn't produced by the BBC. Visually, this documentary is stunning (especially in blu-ray). It covers aquatic environments on land and in water, showcasing the diversity and range of ecosystems.

This isn't simply another version of Blue Planet: Seas of Life. In fact, Water Life features relatively few of the large, charismatic aquatic animals such as whales and sharks (although they are in the documentary). Rather, this series spends a good deal of time with the smaller creatures. It does this well, with great closeups of insects and baby fish. Many of these animals, while not new to science, are certainly new to TV viewers. In fact, it's almost more like Microcosmos in that sense.

Unfortunately, the narrator doesn't match the quality of the footage. The narrator's voice is extremely dry, almost robotic. While the images show awesome scenes of water ripping through valleys, the narrator comes across as pedantic in tone. It's too bad David Attenborough couldn't narrate it. Perhaps the narration could be remixed for a new version of Water Life."