Save your money for something good and enjoyable

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

I watched this documentary yesterday at night. Honestly, the title is everything i want to say. Why in the hell, Americans and Australians who don't have culture in themselves think they have right to tell what the Japanese should and should not eat??Seriously people....America and Australia are the 2 top meat lover nations, we know it, you know it, it is the fact. You telling Japanese "well, dolphin are affectionate, they are intelligent too. They are beautiful, so killing dolphin is sin" I mean who the heck will listen you?? Hellooooo? You love burgers, sausages, bacon, ham, BBQ on Sunday?? Turkey on Thanksgiving and Christmas? You have to have meat on every day and God knows exactly how many animals are killed yearly for those two countries....and yet you tell Japan "Hey, you guys are in bloody business! Stop it now!!"You are just arrogant....If you are saying "dolphin are intelligent, beautiful creatures, so they shouldn't be killed. Cows, pigs, chickens, and other domestic animals are not as intelligent as dolphin. So it is actually okay to farm them, medicate them with anti-biotics and growth hormones and other chemical.." wow you shock me badly. That's exactly what Nazis believed in. People, time to wake up and realize your arrogance attitude towards other culture. I give 2 stars, just because I kind of feel Ric actually loves dolphin even tho his behaviour in Japan is unacceptable. Sea Shepard? Oh hell no, they are bunch of losers, uneducated people with racist views. You all need to watch "Behind 'The Cove'" by director Keiko Yagi. Japanese spoke up finally against western arrogance. Wonderful work, Director Yagi!!

I've loved dolphins and animals in general my entire life, and when I was 11 years old I was planning to do a dolphin swim during a vacation to Mexico. I was looking more forward to this dolphin swim than just about anything, and had no knowledge of the horrific industry that drives it.So five years ago, just a few months before my vacation, I saw a preview for this film premiering on Animal Planet. I didn't understand the preview much, but knew it had something to do with the killing of dolphins. The next time I saw it, I showed it to my father and asked him what it was about. He didn't exactly tell me, but encouraged me to watch it. I was hesitant since I love dolphins and am very sensitive when it comes to animals, but we agreed to record the premiere and watch it together.So watched we did. I understood everything perfectly, with the help of a little explaining from my parents. By the end, I was crying too hard to even speak and was completely baffled by the cruelty displayed in the film. I canceled my dolphin swim and decided that day that I would never support the captivity of cetaceans. I even started an ultimately unsuccessful blog attempting to raise awareness about it. I'm now 16 and my feelings are the same. I believe that watching this film was a huge jump of maturity for me, it truly changed me as a person. I encourage everyone to view this film and really think about it and what it means. I think that The Cove and other great documentaries about animal cruelty should be shown in schools, and maybe the world would become a better place.

There can be no doubt that a biased, "finger-pointing" documentary of this one's one-sided nature would spark all sorts of heated controversy, and angry backlash, and legitimate speculation regarding the motives of its producers.Deciding who is deemed right and who is deemed wrong in this particular instance, where man (once again being the supreme ruler of this planet) makes a significant impact on the survival of all other creatures (big, small, cute, or ugly that roam the Earth), depending on his own self-centred decisions and practises, is a difficult one, indeed.I do not deny that the actions of the Japanese fishermen in the rounding up and the slaughtering of the dolphins (in a secluded cove near the town of Taiji, Japan) is quite shocking to behold....And, believe me, I don't condone what they are doing.....But, have you ever had the eye-opening experience of visiting a slaughterhouse where cattle are butchered, non-stop, day after day, year after year? - Just so that we can have a steak with our "gravy'n'potatoes" dinner? Believe me, it's a gruesome scene that'll shock you into speechlessness, and, maybe, even turn you into a total vegan.Yes. You can easily argue that the slaughtering of cows for human consumption is "OK" 'cause, let's face it, cows are ugly and stupid.But, on the other hand, dolphins are, beyond a doubt, absolutely brilliant creatures who are very self-aware. And, yes, they are cute, too!! All-in-all - The Cove, in its essence, is a very valuable and important portrayal of just one isolated element of animal cruelty. And one must keep it firmly in mind that Japan is not any worse than any other country in this matter.Personally, I found this documentary's glowing hero and dolphin-saviour. Ric O'Barry, to be something of an unreasonable fanatic whose direct involvement in exposing what goes on at Taiji's secluded cove to be somewhat insincere and, yes, even dubious in nature.It seemed obvious to me that this documentary was the work of a very biased group of people who clearly refused to give the other guys their fair chance to state their case and rightfully defend their actions.And, finally - Since O'Barry had the movie effects wizards, Industrial Light & Magic, on his team, I'm almost convinced (beyond a shadow of a doubt) that the gruesome scene showing the water turned blood-red following the dolphin slaughter at the cove was actually a cleverly doctored image which was presented as O'Barry's trump card.This scene's impact was clearly meant to manipulate the easily-swayed emotions of the viewing public. And, to be sure, its results were very-very effective, indeed.P.S. - I am very surprised that this hypocritical and decidedly biased documentary won an Oscar for being the best of its category in 2009.

I've had a day to think about it. There were just so many emotions that were stirred up after watching that movie, I couldn't possibly put it into a coherent statement. First let me say that The Cove is a lot more than a movie about mean old Japanese people killing cute, innocent dolphins. Don't get me wrong, it's the part of the film that will tug at your heartstrings the most. The Cove is about government cover-ups, greed, and the future of our ecosystem. What many people don't know is that a lot of the dolphins are killed for their meat. The Japanese government says it's for food (just like we eat cows) yet the people they talked to in Japan didn't even know about that dolphins are being killed and eaten. The other thing is that dolphin meat has high traces of mercury in it and can pose very serious health risks. The Japanese government is also trying to get a law that prohibits them for fishing for whales overturned. To do this they need a certain amount of votes. In order to get those votes, they go to poverty stricken countries (mainly in the Caribbean) and give them money for their vote. It's disgusting. I've been on a lot of cruises and everywhere we go you see "swim with the dolphin" excursions. Although I've never been on one, my friend has. They are a huge business and I will never look at them the same. By the way, an average dolphin excursion can cost up to $175. I think the heart of the film is Richard Barry, the one time dolphin trainer from the hit TV show Flipper, who has now become an activist. Barry carries a personal sense of guilt and responsibility that can literally be seen on every line of his face. The other cool thing about the film is that it almost unfolds like a spy/heist film. In order to film inside the cove, they need to secretly get cameras inside there. In order to do this, Barry assembles a team of the best people in the business. I'm not quite sure why you shouldn't watch this film. It made me want to become an activist. I feel like I should be doing more and it really bugs me.