Saw Earth, a couple Saturdays ago (May 2nd, to be precise). I wasn’t overly enthusiastic about seeing it (as I had heard literally nothing about it), but the summary on the Fandango App (thank you AT&T for giving your DSL customers free WiFi at all Starbucks locations and apparently Barnes and Nobles) made it seem interesting. We were fairly limited on our options at the time of day we were interested in procuring tickets for a movie, so we entered the theater expecting something similar to Planet Earth.
What we found within the first 5 seconds was that IT WAS THE SAME FOOTAGE. Granted, Darth Vader James Earl Jones was doing the voice rather than John Hammond‘s Brother David Attenborough, but the entire opening sequence of the Mama Polar Bear with her two cubs was the same opening as Planet Earth. Maybe it was because I watched Planet Earth a few months ago, but I was a little bored watching it. Heck, half the time it was just James Earl Jones re-reading the previous narration. I would have to say that there was maybe 40% of material that I hadn’t seen before (which could have been caused by a lack of attention on my part when I first watched Planet Earth).
All in all, I was a bit disappointed with the film, and quite glad I paid matinee prices.
Bottom line: Don’t bother paying for it if you have already seen Planet Earth. There is very little material presented (other than James Earl Jones’ voice) that you didn’t already see (or hear). However, if you haven’t seen Planet Earth, or you were thinking you might wish to rewatch it, this would be an excellent sampler.