Deepsea Challenge (2014) User Reviews

Good movie that takes you deep into the waters for a great adventure.

[elijahmoreno · 6/10 · 8 March 2016]

If you're looking to go on an expedition but don't want to leave your couch, then James Cameron's "Deepsea Challenge" is the movie for you. It is about Cameron's journey as he builds a submarine to help him explore and research the deep sea ocean floor. It is a majestic science-filled journey that displays some great cinematic shots.

"Deepsea Challenge" follows James Cameron and his quest to reach the deepest part of the ocean and discover and collect scientific data. In 2009, Cameron started his plan to reach the deepest part of the sea. James did his final dive in his submarine, "The Challenger", located near the Mariana Trench.

"Deepsea Challenge" is full of underwater science. It talks about having to build a submarine for Cameron to dive in that will be able to withstand the pressure of the deep dives. If they do this wrong or mess up at all it could potentially put Cameron's life on the line. It also talks about deep ocean trenches. Cameron takes a dive into the deepest part of the ocean called the Mariana Trench. The trench is a result of the bigger, denser, Pacific plate colliding with the smaller less dense Mariana plate and is subducted under forming the trench. This is a great movie to watch if you are looking to learn about diving in the ocean and also about trenches.

This movie has a lot of ups and downs, more ups than downs, and one of those many ups is its scenery. Its film work is amazing and some of the scenes they capture make it feel as if you are there in the submarine with Cameron. Every time Cameron is in the sub descending deeper and deeper into the waters it looks so real it almost makes you feel as if you are there with him in the submarine. I watched this movie in my Earth Science class on a screen so I can only imagine if this was viewed in Imax when it released. One of the few downs is that if you aren't into science or the ocean this probably isn't the movie for you. I'm not a big fan of science and the movie seemed to drag a bit but the scenery makes up for it. One of the best scenes is when they show Cameron diving to the Titanic and they also show him diving to another sunken ship.

This movie is full of science but it also teaches another very important lesson. It talks about Cameron dreaming of exploring the ocean as a young boy. He worked hard and stuck to his goals and dreams and was able to achieve it. This shows that you can be whatever you want to be and you can do whatever you want to do as long as you set your mind to it and work hard enough.

If you enjoy the ocean and science, then this is the perfect movie for you. It goes along on a great adventure and teaches you a bit about the ocean. If you are the type of person that likes up- tempo action-filled movies, then you shouldn't watch this movie. This movie is rated PG. I think this is a good film as it takes you on an adventure that show you some amazing underwater shots.

I would rate this movie a *** out of *****.

My name is Elijah Moreno. I am 17 years old and I am a senior currently attending Porterville High School. I have played basketball all four years at my high school and that is the only sport I play. Outside of school I like to workout for basketball and get better.

An Immersive Documentary

[yuehans · 8/10 · 26 October 2014]

The first thing that stands out about Deepsea Challenge 3D is that a lot of effort has gone into documenting the missions in a cinematic way. There are cameras everywhere: mounted on smaller submarines to show you the bigger ones; built into the walls; carried by divers; etc. All this is fluidly strung together to recount a fascinating story, and supported by a dramatic soundtrack.

The documentary doesn't only show you the Challenger Deep mission, but everything that has led up to it, and this includes tons of film-worthy material. We are given a track record of Cameron's almost romantic relationship with the deep, and this includes some deep sea exploration missions he has conducted using submersible robots, taking us into the monumental wrecks of the Titanic and the German battleship Bismarck.

A lot of attention is given to the design of the Deepsea Challenger itself, and the engineering exploits that were carried out during its construction and testing. Creating this one-of-a-kind "metal coffin" is an adventure in itself, especially considering that the conditions down there are in many ways more difficult to deal with than outer space.

Cameron's narration of his expedition log bears an uncanny resemblance to Jake Sully talking about Pandora, and while there are no straight-out action scenes, Deepsea Challenge 3D feels like a science fiction movie in the way it draws you in - but this time, you know that everything you see is completely real, even the crazy stuff. Some scenes are very tense and will have your jaw hanging in disbelief, such as the dramatic submersion from deck-mounted cranes in sketchy weather, or the extent of multiple systems failure during one of the manned test dives.

In the end, Cameron says he hopes this project will also inspire children to live up to their dreams, and indeed this film is likely to mesmerize most kids who see it. It sure made me feel like a kid, and it's very inspiring to witness the adventures of real life explorers.

Post Titan sub catastrophe

[Shenoa77 · 8/10 · 23 June 2023]

I watched this after learning about OceanGate's missing sub the Titan which resulted in a fatal catastrophic implosion. After watching James Cameron's documentary it's more apparent that the CEO's hubris including him bragging about how it was impossible for the sub to fail. Sadly, everyone on board his sub paid the price, classic ego. Cameron in his dive to Challenger Deep obsessed about every SINGLE DETAIL. This is the kind of attention to detail and seriousness required for such a dangerous venture.

I watched this after learning about OceanGate's missing sub the Titan which resulted in a fatal catastrophic implosion. After watching James Cameron's documentary it's more apparent that the CEO's hubris including him bragging about how it was impossible for the sub to fail. Sadly, everyone on board his sub paid the price, classic ego. Cameron in his dive to Challenger Deep obsessed about every SINGLE DETAIL. This is the kind of attention to detail and seriousness required for such a dangerous venture.

this documentary, simple as it may be, shows us what is possible in the future.

[bryank-04844 · 7/10 · 12 August 2015]

James Cameron is at it again. No, not with another 'Avatar' sequel (although he is making about a baker's dozen more of those), but with another water based documentary, complete with his 3D technology. Cameron is known for brining us great films such as 'Terminator 1' and 'Terminator 2', 'True Lies', 'Titanic', 'The Abyss', and 'Avatar'. With films like 'The Abyss', 'Titanic', 'Avatar', and hell - even his first film 'Piranha 2', you can tell he is fascinated with large bodies of water.

Since Cameron now is a billionaire, he can pretty much do anything he wants to. So instead of wasting it on drugs and cars, he has chosen to educate us and explore one of the biggest mysteries still known to human kind. And that is the deepest part of the ocean. We've been to the moon, Mars, and further, but we have never been to the deepest point of the ocean, and that is on our home planet. Since Cameron has a passion for exploration and discovering new things, not to mention access to funds and a brilliant team, he has taken his hobby and made it an educational and scientific endeavor.

Cameron's mission is to journey down to the deepest point of the ocean, which is about five miles down, and collect samples, discover new life, and explore. And that is what this documentary 'James Cameron's Deepsea Challenge' sets out to do. In this short 91 minute documentary, we see Cameron and his crew research and assemble the one-manned submarine that will dive to the bottom of the ocean. All of the tests with the dives, equipment, and 3D cameras that should sustain the massive amount of pressure, traveling that low to the ocean bottom. And then we see the actual dives, which has Cameron himself inside a very small spherical room, operating the craft itself. If one thing goes wrong down there, he would be immediately vaporized within a second.

If you remember the fun documentary where Cameron and Bill Paxton (Pullman) went down to look at the real Titanic, there were several suspenseful scenes where alarms went off, which raised our blood pressure. Those types of things happen here as well. This documentary shows quite well the hazards and payoffs with each failure and success, as Cameron pushes his crew and himself to meet deadlines, so that he can explore something that nobody ever has before. Seeing the amount of hours and man power to make this journey happen is quite incredible.

I wouldn't expect some major discovery or big alien life forms here, but rather just the feeling that somebody did reach the deepest point of the ocean without exploding is quite impressive. And I think Cameron here is hoping that future generations will look to this and be inspired to take this further and explore more, since there is unexplored ocean territory down there larger than North America still. Who knows what is down there. And this documentary, simple as it may be, shows us what is possible in the future.

Strangely uncomfortable, but worth a watch.

[kitellis-98121 · 8/10 · 24 April 2019]

There's something about James Cameron, as a person, that always makes me feel a little uneasy. He has oodles of talent, creativity, and drive, and has the power and money to make his many dreams and ambitions come true. And his passions are both ambitious and worthy. He has an awful lot to contribute to the world, in the fields of cinema, exploration, science, and ecology. He is a man who gets things done.

But somehow he just doesn't seem very nice. He doesn't exude much warmth or kindness. He seems slightly dangerous and unpredictable. Which is a shame. I'd like to like him as much as I respect and admire him. But there's just something...off...about him. But hey, I have Asperger's Syndrome so what do I know? People think I'm "off" too.

However, despite him making me feel discomforted, I still find him a fascinating individual, and his deepsea adventures are of great interest to me. I've seen a couple of other documentaries following his exploits and this was on a par with them in terms of interest factor and general excitingness. But, as another reviewer mentioned, the final underwater scenes were a little disappointing. I still look forward to his next project. I hope there's a documentary of it, but get the feeling that he'd rather be left alone and not have a camera in his face. Perhaps that's the discord that bothers me: he'd rather have his adventures alone, but needs to document them in order to justify (and finance) them, requiring the intrusive presence of a camera crew, who he probably views as parasites. Or I may be completely wrong. Who knows?

Deep sea challenge is great

[vb-04821 · 9/10 · 10 March 2016]

"Deepsea Challenge"

By Valerie Baca

In this epic film of adventure, James Cameron takes to sea in the name of science. James Cameron, the famous director of "Avatar" and "Titanic", made a documentary called "Deep Sea Challenge". In this documentary, James Cameron engineered a submarine to go to the deepest part of the ocean. I recommend watching this film if you enjoy deep sea exploring.

"Deepsea Challenge" follows James Cameron and his quest to get to the deepest part of the ocean. He had to build a sub that could with stand the pressure of 36,000 feet of water. This film is James journey to the bottom of the "Mariana trench", James Cameron is the main character as well as the one who will dive into the Mariana trench. His journey took place the year 2012 during January in Australia. Cameron and his crew undergo many test dives to prepare themselves for the 36,000 feet dive to the bottom of the trench.

This documentary explores the power of the plate tectonic and the scientific importance studying the trenches nature forms. James Cameron and his team travel to the deepest part of the ocean, known as the Marianna trench. The "Mariana trench" was the output of a convergent boundary. The plates have had a huge effect on our world; new trenches are formed as well as volcano's. Separated plates, known divergent boundaries, form mid ocean trenches, plates coming together form mountains, and when a plate goes under a different plate it creates a volcano eruption. Cameron and his crew dove into an extraordinary effect of the movement of the plates.

"Deepsea Challenge" was a very incredible science documentary. A part of this documentary that was really good was when James was exploring a trench off the shore of an island and found a different species of jellyfish. Another awesome scene was when one of the underwater robots interesting type of underwater organism roly polys. The last scene I found interesting was when they were about to be submerged into the trench but were unable to because of the dangerous weather. Although, there were few scenes I found boring. For example, when his crew was building the sub, it wasn't as interesting as James diving into trenches. Another scene that I did not like was when James and his crew were talking about the deadlines, everything that was going wrong or the equipment they needed to repair. Sadly, the scene I disliked the most was when two of James' best friends died in a helicopter crash. Everyone suffered a lot but they pulled through. Although some scenes were not as interesting as the some of the great scenes, the film was incredibly interesting overall.

The moral "Deep Sea Challenge" has to show is to never give up on your dreams, keep dreaming because one day your dream may come true. James, the main character, always dreamed of diving into the depths of the ocean and exploring the mysteries it has to offer and without a doubt he did exactly that. From diving into his imagination in a card board box to diving in the only submarine that could withstand the pressure of 36,000 feet of water, James always dreamt he would dive and he did exactly that.

I would recommend this film to all those kids, teenagers or adults that find the ocean intriguing. Also, to everyone who loves a good diving movie and documentaries. This movie would not be a great movie to anyone who dislikes the ocean or is bored by the ocean; the movie is about the ocean after all. The MPAA rating is PG (parental guidance). I found this documentary very interesting. This movie is a good movie overall.

"Deepsea Challenge" will have you skipping to the theater

[kr-68921 · 19 February 2016]

Have you ever thought about traveling down to the deepest part of the ocean, well if you do this is a great science documentary called "Deepsea Challenge". This movie is really interesting you get to see how they go down to the ocean and go into the deepest parts of the ocean. James Cameron is the director, producer, and main character in this movie. James also directed" Titanic"," Abyss",' Avatar", "Terminator". If you loved those movies then you will love this movie.

This story provides many details on how to break a Deepsea challenge. James Cameron wants to go to the deepest part of the ocean called the Mariana Trench but the deepest part of the trench is called Challenger Deep, only one person has ever been down their, but James doesn't only just want to go down their but he wants to explore it.

James studies test dives for going under the sea and see if the submarine could take it or if they would have to work on it some more in order for it to be okay going down to the Mariana trench. That helped endure the views by seeing what could happen and watch out for what he discovers. This documentary helps educate the viewer in understanding science by that you can't just dice to the bottom of the deepest part of the ocean its a big process, because he went to 9 different places to see if his submarine was ready to go. Also a convergent boundary is when two or more tectonic plates or fragments of the lithosphere move toward one another and collide

The thing that i liked is that after his friend passed away he still perused his dream and kept his memory alive. My favorite part of this documentary was when they kind of showed how the Titanic was made I wanted to see how the movie was made and it showed when the water came into the upper class of the boat and started washing people away I have been wanting to see how they made those parts.

The lessons that i learned from this documentary is that its a process in order to build a submarine and go to the nine places he had to go to test out the submarine so he could get ready to go the deepest part of the ocean. What i think that the others will learn from this story is that its a process to make a submarine and it takes time and money to peruse a dream like James Cameron did.

This movie is PG, a rating which might run off some of the older crowd, but it might mainly be for scientist because of what it talks about. So i would definitely not recommend this to a chef or a baker. This documentary was a good and interesting I would not watch it again but it was good after all.

James Cameron's Least Plausible Film

[flash-104 · 9/10 · 31 December 2020]

An aging filmmaker with a wife and five kids wants to explore, alone, the deepest depth of the ocean. Predictably (at least for those familiar with lazy writing), everything goes wrong and he breaks rules he himself set, so even more things break. Somehow he survives to tell the tale and discovers a preposterous number of new species.

Disappointing

[duvel123 · 5/10 · 15 November 2014]

I had been been looking forward to this for years now. I love good documentaries, about science, the cosmos, nature or history. I love submarine movies. I am a geek. If anyone was going to love this, it was me.

But I didn't.

For starters, the geek in me was very disappointed next to no time was spent showing off the technology. How does it work? How do you build electronics and camera's and other equipment that can resist that pressure? How do you navigate or communicate at that depth ? I was dying to find out, but I learned nothing. Even when things go (very) wrong in early test dives, no explanation is given of what failed, why it failed, how they solved it. Meh!

Then there is the "plot"; I get it that some time will be spent on Cameron's history, why he wants to do that etc, but it takes forever. Is this movie about an expedition or about James Cameron? If only they spent half the time that Cameron claims to glorify himself to talk about the sub, I might have like this.

Finally, there is the (anti)climax of the film. Not sure if this should be considered a spoiler, but when he finally dives to the bottom of the Marianas trench, it seems like he spent all of 2 minutes on the bottom and the most exciting thing he saw was some mud sliding. You don't even get to see a trench or underwater relief, let alone anything alive. Just sand. Now I get it, this was a documentary, not a scripted movie, but really, if that is all there is to see there, what a waste of time and money. Not too mention a waste of my time.

9.5/10 - Excellent Documentary Overall

[danespinoza-57955 · 10/10 · 25 June 2023]

Deepsea Challenge brings the audience through the history of deep sea submersible diving, beginning with the Trieste and how it influenced Cameron.

From there, the documentary works towards James Cameron's ultimate goal of reaching the bottom of the Challenger Deep (in the Mariana Trench), the deepest point in the ocean anywhere in the world.

The cinematography in this film is criminally underrated. The shots that Cameron was able to get from his dives almost seem too good to be real - but they are real! He actually went down there and filmed it like it was the next Avatar movie. When you sit there and think to yourself that someone/something had to actually take these shots, it's an insane realization how difficult it must have been.

This documentary is actually really solid, fundamentally. It intrigues, it wows, it teaches, it inspires, it's got it all. This hour and a half flew by quickly with the tension of the subject matter. Contrary to some other reviews here, I would say this documentary has a narrative, that narrative being Cameron's quest to reach the bottom of the Challenger's Deep. The pacing is actually quite reasonable and helps keep the audience on the edge of their seats.

My ONLY critique, which dings this down to a 9.5, rather than a perfect 10, is that Cameron can come off a bit self-absorbed a bit here and there throughout. The documentary focuses on the history of submersible deep sea diving, of which Cameron is now a part of that history, but sometimes it just comes off a tad cringe for a documentary to have so much focus on one person (Cameron) when the mission involved the work of hundreds. Small nitpicky detail, easily overlooked for most, in my opinion.

The documentary is excellent overall, near perfect. If you are craving submersible content post-OceanGate and want to see what the competent side of deep sea exploration looks like, look no further! This is THE deepsea documentary to watch.

Good, but not great

[rickykylez · 5/10 · 13 March 2016]

"Deepsea Challenge Review"

In this epic documentary, James Cameron takes to the sea in the name of science. James Cameron is known for his work in hit movies such as Avatar, Titanic, and Terminator. In this documentary James Cameron has pulled together an elite group of engineers that share one common goal to reach the deepest part of the ocean, the Mariana trench in a submarine.

The documentary "Deepsea Challenge" shows the challenges James Cameron and his team of engineers had to endure while trying to build a submarine way ahead of its time. They had to consider pressure, lack of light and many other challenges while building the submersible.

Deepsea challenge focuses on the ocean and how tectonic plates have completely altered the face of the earth. The Mariana Trench, the trench they visit in the documentary was formed by subduction, which occurs when one tectonic plate goes under another.

I liked how safety was always their first priority. They did multiple test dives at different depths so that if there was any problems with the submarine they could fix it before the actual dive. I also enjoyed how they named the animals they saw in the test dives such as the angler-fish. It was also nice that they explained how the Mariana trench was formed.

I learned from this documentary that with enough time and enough determination that you can do things that the average person can not. If your life goal is to reach the bottom of the ocean then you can. I believe that other people will also learned the same thing from this documentary.

I believe that adults that are interested in ocean exploration or any type of exploration will find this documentary enjoyable. I would not recommend this documentary to younger children because they tend to have a shorter attention span and this movie has its fair share of long and boring moments.

Ricky Kyle is a student at Porterville High School. Ricky's hobbies include knitting, picking wild flowers, and last but definitely not least Lacrosse. Ricky's long term goal is to resurrect his goldfish named Sparky, who he lost at the age of 6.

The Deepsea Challenger

[sh-92894 · 4/10 · 22 February 2016]

"Deepsea Challenge" will have you skipping to the theater

By Sabrina Hernandez, A.K.A. "The Small Town Critic"

"The Deepsea Challenge" is a documentary on a director. If you like science then I recommend this movie. In my opinion this movie was slow and kind of boring. A director named James Cameron, had a dream of going to the deepest part of the ocean. If you don't know who James Cameron is he is a movie director and he directed big Hollywood movies like "Titanic", "Abyss", "Avatar" and "Terminator". He loved the ocean more than he loved directing movies.

"Deep-sea Challenge" follows James Cameron and his quest to reach the bottom of the Mariana Trench, which is the deepest part of the ocean and the deepest location on Earth, wants to see what its about and explore whats under there. James Cameron wanted to do scientific data on the Mariana Trench. He didn't want to just touch the bottom of the ocean and float back up because he knows that possible, he wanted to do more than that, he wanted to make history.

In the documentary, James Cameron went to the bottom of the ocean to study the ocean trenches. This documentary was made to show you that anything is possible. This movie helped educate the viewers because now they know how things are formed. he showed the audience how he and his crew built that mini submarine and how he went 36,070 feet under water, down to explore the Mariana Trench

What I did like about this movie is all the cool things James Cameron did under water and how they built that mini submarine and how when his friend lost his life, he didn't stop and give up, he still went with his plan and made it even better. That's how you know James Cameron is strong and will never give up. my favorite part of this movie when it showed how he directed his movies. What I didn't like is when he would start complaining that the mini submarine is going to work.

The lessons I learned from this movie is that nothing is impossible and never give up on what you want to do and never give up on your dreams. I believed others learned this lesson as well because James Cameron never stopped and kept going. Another lesson i have learned from this film is just because you have on career or job doesn't mean you can't do something on the side like James Cameron, he is a director but he does ocean exploring on the side and i believe other noticed that lesson as well.

When I saw this film, I knew I wasn't going to be as interested in this movie because I'm not a big fan of science. But i knew people who are big fans and loved science would like this movie because of all of the cool science experiments James Cameron does. I would not recommend this to people who aren't big fans of science because then would have wasted their money when they could have watched another movie they liked instead. The MPAA rating of this movie is PG. My final word on this film would be good but something i wouldn't watch again.