sddavis63
"Eye Of The Dolphin" has all the features that are tailor made to result in a successful movie: it's set in a beautiful location (the Bahamas), it's about animals to appeal to animal lovers, it's specifically about dolphins and raises the question of whether they should be held in captivity so it has a certain environmental appeal, and it has a very pretty young star in Carly Schroeder as Alyssa. While all those things usually work together well and result in a pretty good movie, somehow "Eye Of The Dolphin" seemed lacking. The story was in general just too perfect - a too easy reconciling of a father and daughter (Adrian Dunbar and Schroeder) who had never met, a too simplistic set-up of the problem - Dunbar's "Hawk" wants to study the dolphins while the townspeople in the surrounding area want to use them to bring in tourists, and the whole angle around Alyssa being able to communicate with the dolphins just seemed to easily and too quickly developed to be believable, and the townsfolk are converted to Hawk's side far too quickly, just because they see Alyssa swimming with the dolphins? You also come away from this not really knowing much more about the dolphins than you knew going into it. They seem cute and playful and friendly and smart. That would have been my impression all along.Don't get me wrong. There's nothing in particular "wrong" with this movie. At the start there was even a sort of edginess around Alyssa that had some promise for plot development, but that kind of fizzled. This is fine family fare; kids will enjoy it. It's just that there are far better and more entertaining movies you can watch with your kids. (4/10)
Khemaluck Deeprawat
Usually I love films with animals very much, but "Eye of the Dolphin" disappointed me. The acting of the cast is mediocre and not interesting. Somehow I just don't like the guy who plays the father. His personality did not convince that he was a scientist who is passionate about dolphins. The story moves so slow and the whole thing was predictable. The ending is not even believable. The dolphins are cute but somehow it's just nothing different from the way we saw them at the show. The best thing about this movie is the scenery of the beach and its wild life. It makes me want to go visit Bahamas one day.In conclusion, this is not like a horrible movie or anything. It's just boring and predictable. I watched through the whole thing. I just don't want to watch it again.
Mathew Clough
This film is perpetrating an ideal that dolphins are happy, human loving animals. Its disappointing to see this portrayed again. It is also disappointing to see dolphins used in this manner for film making (something that is thankfully illegal here in the UK under animal cruelty laws). The film portrays dolphins in the wild as friendly and sociable with humans, in fact wild dolphins prefer to keep clear of human contact if possible and can pose a threat, yet this film will suggest that it is acceptable to ride a dolphin under water, something no one involved in marine zoology would ever advise (both through cruelty and the much increased risk of attack from the animal and these are animals that can and have killed). Contrary to a previous review any true environmentalist should not be happy with the wild life treatment and portrayal in this film and certainly no one working with wild dolphins will be.
Adam
To be honest, I wasn't looking forward to this film, but I came away from it really impressed. Even though it's somewhat corny at times, it deals with some fairly complex issues. There was emotion, drama, and even some well-placed humor. The film looks great, and has some impressive performances, especially from some of the more minor characters. Plus, there were the dolphins. Ahhhh, the dolphins. Very cute, and very funny, as always. Granted, it's not my kind of movie, but it's very well made, and definitely enjoyable. I would highly recommend this to anyone into teen/family dramas, or anyone who's a fan of dolphins.
AD
