Sea of Shadows
National Geographic | Release Date: July 12, 2019 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
72
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 10 Critic Reviews
Positive:
8
Mixed:
2
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
90
The Hollywood ReporterSheri LindenMay 30, 2019
Ladkani's Sea of Shadows is a stirring adventure — inspiring and heartbreaking in equal measure. Read full review
82
Paste MagazineAmy GlynnJul 10, 2019
Ladkani’s camerawork is agile and sleek, and the editing is super-sound, so even with a complicated web of crime, corruption, socioeconomic tension, multiple languages, blurred-out faces and folks who operate in the dark, it’s easy to follow. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesKenneth TuranJul 11, 2019
While success is not guaranteed, Sea of Shadows dramatically demonstrates how and why the battle continues to be fought. Read full review
80
The New York TimesBen KenigsbergJul 11, 2019
The plot twists are so spot on that a screenwriter might have rejected them. Read full review
80
VarietyGuy LodgeMay 30, 2019
Told with straightforward investigative nous and a judicious teardrop of anguished sentimentality, the film makes a virtue of its many clashing participants: journalists, scientists, activists, navy officials and fishermen, each with a slightly different stance on the matter. Read full review
75
RogerEbert.comMatt FagerholmJul 12, 2019
What they tell us is inherently alarming, yet it’s a shame that such crimes aren’t conveyed in a more visually compelling way. Read full review
75
Slant MagazineChris BarsantiJul 11, 2019
Richard Ladkani’s Sea of Shadows, which bristles with drama and a panicky sense of righteous anger, uses the potential extinction of one little-known species of whale to symbolize a far larger and potentially globe-spanning problem. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleSam RussekAug 3, 2019
Paradoxical as it might seem, this planet suffering from human activity requires even more human activity if there’s any hope of saving it. National Geographic documentary Sea of Shadows is hell-bent on reminding us of that fact. Read full review
60
Film ThreatHunter LanierMay 30, 2019
It’s the investigative portion of the movie that is most engaging. Read full review
40
The GuardianPeter BradshawSep 26, 2019
It is heartfelt, but its periodic attempts at thriller-style bouts of excitement are redundant, and I wondered sometimes if the film-makers were sure what exactly their story was. Read full review
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