L'Odyssée sous la mer

For a movie about a race against the clock to rescue a group of scientists trapped in an undersea research facility that's been hit by an earthquake, The Neptune Factor is incredibly dull. The problem is that for most of the movie, nothing happens. Ernest Borgnine (who I'll give a little credit as he does his best with this snoozer of a script), Ben Gazzara, and company spend most of the movie on a slow motion tour of the ocean floor looking for their missing colleagues. Garzzara is the worst, showing the same kind of emotion usually reserved for everyday, mundane tasks like doing the laundry or grocery shopping. You'd hardly know from his demeanor that the lives of three people rest in his hands. And when something does finally happen the special effects are so ridiculous looking that the movie losses any credibility it might have had. The "giant" sea creatures the rescuers run into are little more than normal salt water aquarium fish filmed with a zoom lens and a bad looking miniature of the submarine. That's right - The Neptune Factor looks like it was filmed in someone's home aquarium. A giant clown fish - oooooh, how scary! There's nothing much more frightening than the sight of a ludicrously large Nemo.

To say I was disappointed by The Neptune Factor would be a gross understatement. A good cast is put to waste with nothing to do. In the end, I've got to rate this one a 2/10.

If I didn't know any better, I would say The Neptune Factor is a subtle parody on the "disaster Genre" movies of the 1970s. It is certainly not "Airplane", a zany take on the disaster genre, but rather an understated satire. The Rear screen projection of aquarium fish, only adds to the surreal, hypnotic affect this movie had on me. To quote Kirk Douglas from the Disney classic 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, "Why I've seen scarier fish in my Aunt Fannie's gold fish bowl". Amazing what a little imagination and creativity can do for a parody of a low budget movie.

Oceanlab is an experimental station built atop an undersea mountain in the

North Atlantic somewhere off the coast of Canada. An earthquake strikes,

causing the lab to plunge into an unexplored abyss. Three men are trapped

aboard and they have only seven days of oxygen remaining.

After five days, the Oceanlab team is able to call in a retired naval officer, Commander Blake (Gazzara). Using his deep sea submersible "Neptune II," it

is hoped he can locate and rescue the men before they suffocate. The hope is a slim one; all contact with the lab was lost when the earthquake occurred. The submersible must face the hazards of deep sea travel, aftershocks, and some

very unexpected discoveries on the ocean floor.

The cast is unusually strong with Ernest Borgnine, Donnelly Rhodes, Yvette

Mimieux, and Walter Pigeon all putting in good performances. The special

effects are limited to model work for undersea shots, but the models are decent enough given the year of release. The film starts out well with the opening

score being particularly noteworthy. Unfortunately, once the submersible gets in the water, the viewer is taken for a rather dull ride for the bulk of the film. Suspense is largely absent. In lieu of pacing, the filmmakers subject the viewer to a lot of stock fish footage. While this was decent enough, it was overused and probably better suited to a nature documentary. Ultimately, the screenplay

needed some serious work. There is insufficient substance to make this work

even as a one hour Twilight Zone or Outer Limits episode. "The Neptune

Factor" otherwise possessed all of the elements necessary to make a successful and compelling adventure film.

Not as exciting as the box cover artwork might suggest, with a painfully stilted characterisation by Ben Gazzara and capable supporting cast trapped in one-dimensional roles. The story concerns militant, officious salvage expert (Gazzara) contracted by an aquatic research team to recover a stricken underwater manned probe that has descended into a deep sea ravine. Gazzara makes it clear from the outset that his goal is only to locate the vessel for insurance purposes, except Mimieux's companion is one of those aboard and she ups the ante in spite of escalating challenges.

Pidgeon and Borgnine have little opportunity to establish any characterisation, while Mimieux simply frets and affects anxiety to demonstrate her 'depth' of character. The friction between her and Gazzara is about the only palpable action in the whole picture. The special effects consist of intense magnification of gold fish and other aquarium species, while endless jolts and turbulence puts you in the environmental context. As far as dialogue goes, the technical spec consists mainly of references to rudder malfunction and oxygen saturation. Riveting stuff.

Disappointingly, the film ends abruptly where it could have developed a more convincing, compelling climax. After waiting 95 minutes, the audience is treated to a Jules Verne moment in which 'giant' eels corral the probe's survivors as they run out of oxygen. But just as the action gains momentum, the film ends. Five more minutes of that encounter might have earned another star, but this underwater adventure is mostly talk and no action.

Not a bad effort, really, given that the film was made during the age of Cousteau. Underwater filming of deep ocean life had not been accomplished. Now we know what it looks like way down there, so the fish tank 'special effects' really ruin the story. The first sight of a clown fish is like a slap in the face! The film becomes a comedy after that! But really, this is only because science education (as miserable as it may be) has advanced SO MUCH on television. Now we can sit on our sofa and watch animal planet to get a better seminar on deep ocean life than marine biologists of the day received! So, if you're looking for a top-notch special effects masterpiece, the toy sub floating in the Monterey Bay aquarium's fish tanks probably won't cut it. Nevertheless, it's an entertaining few minutes, anyway. I say, watch it and try to forget about reality for a while. Pretend you're TEN!