Deep Sky, an IMAX Original Documentary, Review

John Nguyen

IMAX’s Deep Sky has been shown previously at limited IMAX theaters including California Science Center, where it focuses on beautiful documentaries on the big screen such as Blue Whales 3D, Cities of the Future 3D, and more. Today, Deep Sky is opening in more IMAX theaters nationwide for a week only, and it’s a great chance for many moviegoers to see the wonders of the universe with beautiful images captured by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope on the big screen.

The film is directed by Nathaniel Kahn (The Hunt for Planet B, The Dark Side of the Sun), who brings us plenty of archival and interview footage of the Webb team, including their excitement of seeing the first image sent from the telescope. Michelle Williams (The Greatest Showman) narrates the documentary, giving viewers a familiar voice as they learn about the universe.

The images from the Webb Telescope showcase the epic scope of space including never-before-seen cosmic landscapes and newly discovered exoplanets (planets around other stars). The talented team behind the Webb Telescope is featured in interviews, and the film covers their journey as they launch the telescope one million miles from Earth. The hope is that we’ll get answers, and there are clues that maybe life is out there somewhere.

Looking into space and seeing the wonder of the universe as provided by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope is remarkable and breathtaking. The Webb telescope can produce the deepest and sharpest infrared images of the far universe, allowing NASA and enthusiasts to see the faintest objects ever observed in the infrared.

Most of the film is featured in the 1.43:1 aspect ratio, with the bulk of the interviews and a couple of other shots in a different ratio.

For an IMAX experience, I did wish to see more images from the Webb Telescope. If you’ve seen Hubble 3D, that documentary really showcased the IMAX format with Hubble’s space images recreated as CGI fly-throughs. With that said, Deep Sky is a wondrous documentary that gives us a marvelous look at the universe.