1. Harrowing pictures of dolphins being brutally murdered are some of the scariest, saddest and most terrible things I have ever seen on film. 10/10.

2. **Ric O'Barry** feels like one of those rare everyday heroes there should be more of in the world. If everyone was like him, we wouldn't have any trouble in the world. 10/10.

3. The film puts focus on more than just the whaling industry in Japan, also putting light on the dangers of consuming dolphin meat, the politics and power struggle behind the industry and the backstory of how the situation became what it became. 10/10.

4. The organization behind the operation seen in the film feels like a high-stakes heist film - like an _Ocean's 11_ in real life. 10/10.

5. The hectic music and the material filmed with heat-sensitive cameras and night vision lenses help give the film a spy thriller look and feel. 10/10.

6. The director, the former _National Geographic_ photographer, expertly keeps the film together, giving us relevant information at the right time and keeping us interested from beginning to end. 10/10.

7. It would have been nice to hear more about how the release of the video material impacted the whaling business in Taiji. 9/10.

8. The constant switch between the actual operation and background information helps to keep up interest and suspense but also makes me growingly impatient to see how it all ends. 9/10.

9. One could argue that the film depicts Japanese in a one-dimensional and antagonistic way. Then again, this film is not about the Japanese, but about dolphins being brutally murdered without most of the nation knowing about it. 7/10.

10. The film puts a major focus on Ric and his past and current work. We learn exactly why he feels responsible for the current whaling industry and how he wants to right his wrongs, This means that the other members of his little team feel neglected. 6/10.

**Verdict: 91/100**

In Japan, there is a small town called Taiji. In Taiji, there is a place called the Cove. It is a secret place, a place where 23,000 dolphins are killed every year. The dolphins are not just killed, they are in fact slaughtered in the most brutal way imaginable. And all this without anyone really knowing that it goes on.

I've heard of dolphins being killed in the nets when they catch tuna, but I've never thought that people actually hunted down dolphins as a source of food. Dolphins, like any whale really, seem a bit too majestic and mysterious to just slaughter like pigs and cows, at least to me. And if this movie is to be believed, they can also be quite dangerous to eat, as they contain a high amount of mercury.

This movie is a documentary, focused around a signle event, where we actually see the slaughter of the dolphins. We see how the crew set up the cameras in the middle of the night, as well as how they scout out the area and plan the entire event. But more interesting than all that, we also meet Ric O'berry, one of the original actors and trainers from the tv show Flipper, who has now devoted his life to stopping the killing and abuse of dolphins. Being part of Flipper, and the one who actually caught the dolphins to appear on that show, he feels personal responsible for starting this whole mess. Of course, it would most likely have happened anyways, but we feel his pain.

As a documentary, this is really well made. It is constructed much like a movie, but doesn't become too emotional, except at the very end, where we see Ric telling his story to the world, silently and with a screen on his belly.

_Last words... I am not a big dolphin lover or anything, but this movie still got to me by the end, because... this seems so pointless. I dont think the dolphins are in any danger of being extinct anytime soon, but still, these creatures are mysterious and might have something to teach us, and for that, they deserve to be treated differently._