Bugs!

It is not easy making a documentary about insects interesting, especially if they are not your cup of tea or if the subject does not sound appealing. That does apply to me admittedly. Still saw 'Bugs' anyway as someone who loves Judi Dench and who has seen many very well done IMAX documentary short films over the past year or so. Have also seen documentaries covering insects that are good and make the subject interesting, so that the subject has been done well in the past gave me some reassurance.

On the whole, 'Bugs' struck me as quite good. It may not have much that is innovative and there are other documentaries with more consistent pacing and a wider range of emotions, but 'Bugs' does a good job making the subject interesting and informative and does have a lot to recommend. It is not one of the best IMAX documentary short films seen, not by a long shot, but it is also not one of the worst. Somewhere firmly in the solid middle is more like it.

'Bugs' looks great first and foremost. The scenery is both gorgeous and unforgiving, enhanced beautifully by the vibrant photography. The IMAX is very well done and is not overused or gimmicky. Personally liked Dench's narration, which did have authority and was soothing. The writing also didn't come over as schmaltzy, preachy or melodramatically corny. The insects are a good mix of the cute and the creepy.

There are two particularly good sequences here. One is the rhino beetles duel, which had a good deal of uncompromising tension and excitement. The other is the one with the praying mantis, though it is not a sequence for the faint hearted. Despite the lack of originality, the information presented still entertains and teaches.

Having said all that, 'Bugs' is not perfect. Will agree that it is intrusively scored, it could have been used a good deal less and it did overbear and sound like it was trying too hard to be like a dramatic film and didn't need to be.

Like all the IMAX documentary short films, 'Bugs' is also too short and also did think that some of the information could have been delved into more. Trying to not include too many things and focus on a longer period of time on a few of the insects would have solved this.

Summing up, not great but pretty good. 7/10.

On the DVD, watch the "Making of..." and the interviews in its Special Features. Those give a deeper perspective into why and how the writers chose to show two individual insects for the full progression, from hatching egg to adulthood. Lots more fascinating insects, amphibians and reptiles also, of course! Some reviewers had commented here that a broader, more documentary style would have suited their tastes better, but this show was aimed to engage a variety of viewers, preschoolers to mature adults. Kids engage with a personalized story-line better than with just a general documentary not focusing on particular creatures. Photography is wonderful! Dame Judi Dench provides her usual skilled performance as its narrator. Worth watching!

I enjoyed the film, and the IMAX 3D effects were very impressive. However, instead of just focusing on the lifecycle of two creatures and giving the occasional side note about others, I would've preferred more of an overall survey about insect life. The lifecycle isn't all that fascinating (unless you're seeing it for the first time, which most viewers probably aren't), it's the visuals that we want to see. A more survey-style presentation that allowed us to get a look at a variety of interesting bugs would be more satisfying in this regard.

Two of my favorites, visually, were the dueling rhinoceros beetles, and the praying mantis shedding its carapace whole.

I watched most of "Bugs!" with the sound turned off because I didn't like Judi Dench's narration at all - Nor did I much care for the soundtrack music which quickly began to grate on my nerves. So, because of these 2 annoyances, silence was the only option for me.

This documentary also lost itself some significant points when it became quite obvious to this viewer that a number of the insects featured in the show were, in fact, actually being set up to fight with and inevitably eat up each other.

Yes. I do realize that "they-are-just-bugs", but, because of the frame of mind I was in, having to watch them deliberately do each other in for the sake of cinematic-drama (because the production crew made it happen) rendered this entire documentary as being a pretty shoddy bit of entertainment.

Filmed in the rain forest region of Borneo - This nature documentary earned its 4 stars from me for its very lush photography that showed the viewer super-magnified images of spiders, centipedes, beetles, bees and praying mantis, etc., etc., foraging around in their natural environment.