Orca

Most of the reviews about Orca that I have seen say that, essentially, it belongs in the garbage can, with an unrealistic plot and terrible acting. Yet I must confess I quite enjoyed this film. It's been a number of years since I saw it, and I've actually forgotten most of the violent scenes. Probably what held much of the attraction for me was the theme of moral uncertainty which it maintains until the very end.

This is a much more humanely stimulating movie than Jaws. In this film there are no real bad guys, either human or otherwise, and we feel compelled to feel pity for both the orca, and the character Nolan.

The "We are One" song, the music of which features throughout the movie, is one of the most beautiful songs I have ever heard, and the scenes which show the orcas slowly swimming together to this music are quite entrancing.

The chilling scene in which the female orca aborts her unborn foetus is, of course, unforgettable, and it is this scene that begins the tragic theme of the story. This is a different movie altogether from Jaws, and the dramatically different endings of the two films perhaps show this difference most of all.

Watch Orca - you won't regret it.

Well, here's an interesting twist: in this revenge film, it's not a human but a whale wreaking havoc after a seaman killed its mate and unborn baby. Orca goes after those responsible.

Yes, it's a bit far-fetched making a whale almost human-like but most revenge films are satisfying so the filmmakers figured, what the heck, let's cash in on the popular theme. It's also the decade of "Jaws," so I guess man-eating sea creatures were "in." Actually, it wasn't 'Jaws," but it wasn't bad, either. It was a pretty interesting film.

Notes on the movie: the scene where the baby comes out of the mother is NOT pleasant to watch......Richard Harris and Charlotte Rampling star, but a young Bo Derek is here, too, in a supporting role.

I watched this twice and that was enough.

This film is far from perfect, but it is nowhere near as bad as the IMDb rating and critics say it is. Critics have said it is overblown, forgettable, unscary and laughable. For me, Orca is none of those things. Yes, it does have its flaws, but it is a very underrated flick that doesn't take itself too seriously. I don't think it is the best movie ever, but what I liked most about this was that it never tried to be. Of course the script is weak in places, the story takes a while to get going and the film is rather slow. But overall, it is above average and more than decent. The film is well shot with dark cinematography and nice scenery. The music by Ennio Morricone is very creepy and intense, and just shows what a great composer Morricone is. The film is also benefited by a good cast, primarily the late great Richard Harris as Captain Nolan and Charlotte Rampling in a thoughtful performance as the female lead. But what made the movie was Orca himself. That is one scary killer whale I will admit. The story, about a killer whale wanting revenge on some humans for the death of his mate and baby, is good and has some suspense and terror. I don't think Orca is laughable or forgettable at all. I saw it when I was 10 by accident for the first time on television while flicking through channels, and while I didn't see it again until recently(I am 17 by the way) and couldn't remember what it was called until my dad reminded me, I do specifically remember getting nightmares every time Orca arrived on screen. Overall, not perfect, but a more than decent and underrated flick. 7/10 Bethany Cox

This was WAY better than I was expecting and much better than it had any right to be. Rather than just another crazed animal kills people movie, it was more mythic in its scope, almost like moby Dick in the way it portrayed man vs whale. It had excellent use of stock footage and trained animals and hid the puppets away with such short shots that it worked quite well. While there were some hokey parts, overall it was a nice, more thoughtful change of pace from the usual blood in the water movies.

First off, i saw this film over a decade ago, so don't expect a full autopsy on how 70's the film was, or the plot holes. Looking back at these reviews, i must say that my memory of the plot is pretty good. Personally, when i saw this film I thought it to be pretty intense. The plot was not entirely bad. Sure it was inplausible that richard harris picked on the one genius killer whale in the whole atlantic. But am i to believe that non-human animals don't have emotions that include vengeance? No, i don't believe that at all. We hairless primates should learn not to ascribe any moderately complex emotion solely under the category "human".

To me, the real strength of this film was its allegory to the destruction of nature. I don't think it entirely inplausible that the writer wanted to symbolize the strife between man's greed, and the annhilation of this planet's animals and ecosystems. The point could have been, that our own planet at some critical point might strike out at us.

And come on you guys, after watching "JAWS" you want killer animal flicks that conform to modern day science? You're telling me that great whites do, in fact, stalk tourist filled beaches as if they were seal colonies? Now look who's living in the 70's.....

peace.