Not an enjoyable film if story is important to you...

Rating: 3/10 (8 March 2014)

A lot of people seem to rave about the film because they felt emotionally affected by it. I got recommendations to watch this from so many people. And yet when I asked them what it's about, not 1 could tell me. Well, I'll tell you. Essentially, it's the story of two childhood friends who grow up by the sea and develop an obsession with it. Unable to connect with real people, they become world-champion free divers, and the film is basically about them competing for the world record.
This could be an intense, beautifully shot film, but it ends up being long, meandering, and nonsensical. I thought Jean Reno was great in it, as I've known some Italians like him. However, the other characters were completely unbelievable to me, and the story was...well, kind of retarded.
Without spoilers, I will say there are several deaths in the film that are ridiculous and completely avoidable, at least from the way Besson shows them, they are.
The character choices are also ridiculous, with women reduced to broad, sexist stereotypes of becoming easily obsessed with commitment and children, and chasing men with little or no reason.
There are a whole lot of beautiful shots of dolphins and ocean locales, but if you want to see that, you can watch the Discovery Channel or "Planet Earth", no need to make a 3 hour excuse for a story.
In the end, I can't possibly recommend anyone waste their time on this. There are so many better films for nearly any way you could look at it...romance, story, acting, atmosphere, etc.