To the usual recipe for Imax nature documentaries -- science, scenery and spectacle -- we now add skin. "The Ultimate Wave Tahiti 3D" takes us to the South Pacific paradise, home of the world's biggest waves, exotic fish and avid surfers.
The movie follows surfing champ Kelly Slater on a safari for the perfect curl. It features remarkable footage captured from boards slaloming across towering walls of seawater. With the aid of computer graphics, we get a lesson in Wave Mechanics 101, explaining why the renowned Teahupo'o reef generates some of the planet's most fearsome (and thrilling) waves.
As you'd expect, scenes of Slater and his native host Raimana Van Bastolear larking underwater among the island's coral reefs segues smoothly into cautionary observations about rising oceanic temperatures and resulting ecological damage.
The camera work takes you so close inside the action that you can almost feel the splashes. With numerous scenes ingeniously filmed from the nose of rocketing surfboards, this film may present some challenges for viewers susceptible to motion sickness. Similarly, if anyone in your party might experience distress at seeing large-format 3-D wahines in teeny-weeny bikinis, be advised.
Colin Covert • 612-673-7186
