Before our author Michael Gasch tells you what makes the deep-sea documentary ‘Aliens of the Seas’ so worth watching and why it is the perfect companion to ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’, we would like to remind you again that you can watch the movie at no extra cost if you have a Disney+ subscription. So there you have the opportunity to create a double feature with the sequel to “Avatar” (or if you’re really crazy, even a triple feature).
That’s what ‘Aliens of the Sea’ is about
James Cameron undertook a unique research project in 2005. Equipped with specially designed submarines, the journey went thousands of meters deep – both in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Supported by an entire team of biologists and marine researchers, the goal was to collect data.
However, it was also about looking at underwater creatures that resemble creatures from other planets and are hidden from our view. The nature documentary ‘Aliens of the Seas’ captures this impressive diving adventure.
Return to a time before the ‘Avatar’ era
When James Cameron isn’t in a Hollywood studio working on his next big blockbuster, the Canadian film director spends his remaining time exploring the oceans. This has been clearly noticeable in his films for more than 30 years – just think back to the much underrated masterpiece ‘Abyss’ in the oppressive deep sea or his well-known epic ‘Titanic’. But even beyond that, the Hollywood icon is unstoppable.
His passion for the oceans is so great that he has been to the deepest point on earth and has led several research missions to this day – most recently Mission OceanX. His 2005 production “Aliens of the Seas”, but also “James Cameron’s Deep Sea Challenge“ can therefore be seen as the basic framework for his blockbustersin which he processes his passion but also scientific findings.
‘Aliens of the Sea’ may be a documentary, but it looks like a Cameron blockbuster
As befits Cameron productions, he also serves the audience (at least by the standards of the time) the most modern film technology. IMAX cameras and 3D technology were also used for his underwater documentation. While this may not seem like much use these days unless you have a big screen or a screen in a lavish home theater, you can see Cameron’s penchant for big (cinema) pictures.
Visually, “Aliens of the Seas” is just so impressive. But the production also has one major strength: it shows how different documentaries and blockbusters are from each other. Instead of a tense atmosphere like in “Abyss” or literally fantastic like in “The Way Of Water”, the images here seem more distant and play more with the factor of the unknown.
While Cameron knows exactly which buttons to press to captivate the audience in ‘Avatar’, things are different here. In other words: If you think back to how ‘Avatar’ emotionally engages the audience and seems more or less composed or, better yet, constructed, ‘Aliens of the Seas’ takes us to another, more authentic world.
No mundane documentation
We don’t get traditional documentation with the same talking heads and facts. Cameron is not concerned here with much scientific explanation or an inventory of studied and undiscovered organisms. Infographics are rarely used to actually convey knowledge. Instead, it’s more about experiencing it up close. The focus is not only on the deep-sea images, but also on Cameron himself, who maintains close friendships with the research experts, some of whom were already on board ‘Titanic’.
What is shown is not always beautiful and James Cameron sometimes has to complain about the “ugliest fish in the world”. But for beautiful pictures there is also “Avatar: The Way of Water”.
James Cameron: scientist and artist
Even though the documentary is a bit older, you get a pretty clear picture of James Cameron after just a few minutes. While filmmaking ‘only’ takes second place in his life, the general urge for discovery and adventure is the most important thing: after all – hear, hear: ‘much more exciting than any invented Hollywood effect’.
Cameron unknowingly earns some sympathy points for keeping his inner child. If you put the impressive underwater world and the most modern equipment in the background, ‘Aliens of the Seas’ shows a primarily childlike filmmaker who has fun and likes to explore.
Looking at ‘Aliens of the Sea’ and Cameron’s other resume, you can rightly say: Without this scientific touch and all his adventures so far, there would most likely not have been “Avatar 2.” So it’s worth looking back in time to understand how his passion culminated in the impressive blockbuster sequel.