Film review: MUSEUM ALIVE 3D (IMAX), from ‘Built For Speed’
Sir David Attenborough’s Museum Alive 3D is like a documentary response to the Night At The Museum films. Here, the esteemed naturalist and TV documentary legend hides out in the London Museum of Natural History after the doors have closed and commentates as various exhibits come to life.
Through these living exhibits, Sir David provides fascinating insights into the types of creatures (now extinct) that roamed the earth in prehistoric times. These include: dinosaurs, sabre tooth tigers, New Zealand’s enormous Moa bird which looks like an emu on steroids, the giant ground sloth and a humongous snake that counted small elephants among its tucker. Sir David also reveals that the iconic Dodo Bird probably didn’t look the way artists have always depicted it and by extrapolating from its skeletal structure and environmental needs, he shows how it probably looked.
Sir David provides fascinating details about each creature and as he has done so well throughout his lengthy TV career, delivers these in a clear and accessible but not overly simplistic fashion. Each creature is also realised through wonderfully vivid cgi effects and clever use of 3D.
This is a fascinating exploration of our zoological past and while it has been on TV there’s no better place to imbibe this documentary’s wondrous images and Sir David’s smooth, sophisticated commentary than at IMAX.
Nick’s rating: ***1/2
Genre: Natural history documentary.
Classification: G.
Director(s): Daniel M. Smith.
Release date: 2nd January 2017.
Running time: 45 mins.
Reviewer: Nick Gardener can be heard on “Built For Speed” every Friday night from 8-10pm right here on 88.3 Southern FM. Nick can also be heard on “The Good, The Bad, The Ugly Film Show” podcast. http://subcultureentertainment.com/2014/02/the-good-the-bad-the-ugly-film-show