Blackfish

Blackfish

Rating: PG-13

Time: 83 minutes

Genre: Documentary

Year: 2013

My Rating: 8

I rarely watch documentaries, because I find them to often be quite dull. However, this one was about something I had a genuine interest in: the dangers of keeping orca whales in captivity. I was really impressed with how well this was put together. 

The movie showed the whale, Tilikum, being captured as a baby and taken from his family. It went through his life and showed how he is responsible for three human deaths while in captivity. There were other whales as well that were violent, dragging trainers under the water and thrashing them around. This movie was about why the whales acted out so violently.

This movie did a great job explaining the complexities of orca whale pods (families) in the wild, the lack of pod unity in captivity, and reasons why whales in captivity can be violent. Former trainers that worked at Sea World were used in this film, speaking on experiences they had with the animals and that they saw others have with the animals.

For someone who really doesn't like documentaries, this one did a great job of holding my attention. The used actual footage of whales attacking their trainers, and that is why is was PG-13. It was kind of scary at parts, seeing people dragged around by these huge aquatic mammals. I gave this movie an 8 out of 10 because it was done so well and got my attention. The 8 is compared to other documentaries, not to all other movies that I have seen.