'Whales: An Unforgettable Journey' immediately appealed first hearing about it. The subject sounded very interesting, have always adored whales of all kinds and have always found something new about them each time (with them being seen a lot in David Attenborough documentaries). Also like a lot of Patrick Stewart's voice and he has one of those can listen to for hours and one of those that can read the phone book and still captivate. There are some very good and more IMAX documentary films and short subjects.
While not one of my all time favourite documentaries or one that is ground breaking (naming them would be unfair though due to the approach being very different), 'Whales: An Unforgettable Journey' does a great job with its subject and location and of all the IMAX documentaries it's close to being one of the best and most educational if not quite making it. Stewart is well served though the narration doesn't always come off, through no fault of his own having said that.
It is with the women where 'Whales: An Unforgettable Journey' is less successful, didn't find their material as educational or entertaining and the momentum goes a little.
The only other issue is the length, a common weakness with the IMAX documentary short films. It is for my tastes too short and would have benefitted from being 10-15 minutes longer with more Stewart and even more and longer whale footage.
So much is wonderful however about 'Whales: An Unforgettable Journey'. It looks absolutely beautiful with some truly stunning shots and great expansive use of the varied location that is both beautiful and unforgiving. This is also one of the few IMAX nature documentaries seen recently where the IMAX actually doesn't look cheap, too gimmicky or/and too reliant upon. The whales are an absolute delight, very cute and majestic with a wide variety of personalities.
Furthermore, Stewart brings a lot of soothing gravitas to the narration, which is never cheesy or melodramatic and even with a familiar subject the information was still illuminating and never less than intriguing. Nothing is juvenile or over complicated. Personally had no problem with the music, which wasn't too much tonally or in placement and it didn't feel like it came out of something else entirely.
Concluding, very good indeed. 8/10.
