Sharkwater (2006)

This movie should be re-edited, get a new narrator, and get more solid facts with more respected biologists like Canada's, David Suzuki. Why didn't they get Doctor Suzuki to narrate? He is well know and respected world wide and fully supports animal rights. He may have even donated his time, if they approached him, but I don't think he would agree with most of the movies ethics or lack of. I really want to know, "What did Dr. David Suzuki think of this movie?" I fully understand that there is a serious issue regarding to people killing off sharks.. I believe that they should be left alone like any other animal unless they provide some sort of medical cure, but they do not as far as I know. This movie tries to jump on the "Environmental Band Wagon". It was poor done and reminds me of one of my students handing in a book report for a book they had skimmed the night before. It is very vague and amateurish. Not to mention the lack of ethics on their part. They would rather ram another vessel and risk killing human beings, to save a few sharks. They didn't have any backing from any government to do so. This is why they were being arrested and charged for several counts of attempt of murder. If you see a dog being beaten on the street and decide that it is appropriate to beat the dog owner with a baseball bat….you will be arrested and you will be charged with either aggravated assault or attempt of murder.Another thing that bothered me was when the photographer had to be hospitalized because he had a "Flesh Eating Disease", they didn't show the his leg and to movie makers that would have been the "Money Shot". So why didn't they show his leg? I think that this drama was invented to given the narrator more depth and to prove that he was risking his life to save the sharks. In fact, he did very little to save the sharks. The Canadian Movie Production Company "Sharkwater Productions" deserves most of the credit The photographer took photos and film footage and that was about it.Oh yes…we did get to see him swim around in a skin tight bathing suite for the last have hour of the movie….What was that all about? Where they going for the female/gay demographic?

A great documentary film worth watching for its education value on the topic of the shark-finning industry alone. It goes a couple levels deeper than the usual documentaries you'll catch on discovery channel type shows which made the film quite captivating. Underwater scenes are well shot, although if all you want is some oceanic eyecandy go see 'Blue planet' instead. The real worth of the film comes from some of the undercover and handicam shooting of illegal sharkfin set ups, boat chases, etc...Director Rob Stewart does a bit too much mugging for the camera which takes some focus away from the sharks, and the way he ends it left me scratching my head for a bit. But despite that, you can tell he is passionate about this topic. His narration and on-screen presence isn't all that hard-hitting, though some of the footage (the finning sequence especially) makes up for it.Bottom line: As a shark lover, if I had my way I'd make everybody I know watch this movie. I've always felt it a shame that because sharks aren't cute and cuddly they've been left on the back burner of public conservation interest, and I hope it's movies like this that will start to change that.

Seriously. If either Gore or Moore (hey! that rhymes!) had made this movie, it would be ALL OVER the place. As it is, there were four other people in the theater with me. What a shame. Beautiful underwater scenes aside, this movie made me cry. What a strong message, and the stuff that happened in Costa Rica, etc added clear visual evidence of what's going on. If I had to find a fault, it would be the filmmaker himself; as many adventure filmmakers do, he thinks the viewers will want to see him as much as possible, and to hear about their personal problems. Which is fine if pertinent, but in his case it wasn't. But really, a small complaint.

you know, the scary thing is, living in Costa Rica, you can see blatant signs of deals between the Costa Rican Government and the Taiwanese..... Rob Stewart is a genius for bringing this to the attention of the public - something I have been fighting against for a while now. I have just come back from volunteering at Cocos Island, and it breaks my heart to see the long lines set up in supposedly protected waters. The message is out in Costa Rica that it is OK to fish here, and nothing will happen to you if you get caught.... we need more people like "Sea Shepherd", who care, and can see the devastation that this is causing....