This contains probably the single ballsiest act of environmental activism I've ever seen.

Though decidedly one-sided, it's hard to watch The Cove and come up with a valid, "Yeah, but..." statement. If you want a fun, lighthearted movie then you should stay as far away as possible. But if you want a good reminder of just how inhumane humans can be, check it out.

Decent activism documentary, but seriously, unless you are vegetarian you shouldn't be bitchin' about Japanese eating dolphins, because that just makes you hypocritical twat.

I was actually expecting more gruesome footage. Maybe I have become too desensitized. But that wasn't the main focal point of the film. The main focal point of the film was how Japan (Japanese fishing companies) isn't going to take shit from the west and keep killing cute dolphins because they can. Good on the filmmaker for exposing these snakes; not only for the benefit of the dolphins, but for the Japanese people who unknowingly feed on its mercury induced meat. Oh yeah, it's a good watch.

It's a good documentary on very intriguing subject matter, but I'm never going to be surprised at the brutality human beings are capable of. I'd also be lying if I said taking a firm stance on this film wouldn't make me a hypocrite, since I eat other forms of meat too. The only way the movie wouldn't really be worth your time is if you already know about the dolphin trade or are really squeamish. Do NOT watch this if you are squeamish.

Impressive and exiting documentary. Just started hating Japanese politics after that. How come people can eat dolphins? Why can't they be like normal people who cows and pigs?

How much you care about this doc - the wholesale slaughter of dolphins for food in the Japanese port city of Taijii -- really depends on whether or not you consider dolphins to be sentient beings. I do and so I cared. Beyond that, the film is expertly constructed like a mystery or action thriller, withholding the "money shot" until late in the film, all while building suspense through traditional narrative strategies. Illuminating and perversely, easy to watch. Until...

When I see this documentary I'm sure now to go never to Japan or eat in a Japanese restaurant. Those yellow bastards are really stupid to kill every year 23000 dolphins.

I like dolphins, but not enough to have been interested in this film. But you know how some New Yorker articles turn out to be really fascinating even though you had no interest in the subject matter initially? That's the case with this movie. Plus, it is pretty suspenseful and exciting. Having said that, I don't think it's a very thoughtful or fair type of documentary, namely, are there some animals that are so valuable that you can impose these values on anyone else?

I luv dolphins 2 but this doc does its best 2 gloss over the hypocrisy of condemning this particular Japnese village 4 slaughtering them, while US cow/pig abattoirs r acceptable b/c they're less "intelligent"& eating them is "cultural".Yes, dolphins seem more self-aware, but perhaps their puppy-like image best explains this contradiction.Given the emotions it's tough2 know There's a moving character looking 4 redemption& the covert-ops aspect generates tension, but the pay off seems a bit hollow

"Staggeringly exposes the high-to-low complicity of many hands in the international captivity trade, though mostly it stands as a testament to one man's activist spirit and a reminder of how all social progress comes from the passion of the individual." - Ed Gonzalez

Humans can't even avoid exploiting and slaughtering each other, why is it so shocking they will do the same to other animals. The heist angle is intriguing but unfortunately I have used up all my moral outrage on real issues.

The underwater cam showing the ocean go from blue to red was an eye opener of the ruthless actions by the Japanese fishermen.

A little sensationalist (good arguments don't need dramatic music) and obviously one-sided, so it's good to do a check for other opinions, however the film serves its purpose of showing the dolphin-killing footage. I do find it amusing that some people can equate the eating of carnivores with the eating of herbivores.

Upsetting documentary. Why is it so hard to change something in this world? I really have no words for that ending with the secret dolphin footage.. I'm not a huge dolphin fan, but the way humans can act is just sick

Very important documentary about animals' rights. I bit leghty though.

With an outsider's perspective, the die-hard nature of "The Cove" can be off-putting. I've never had a dolphin come from the sea and give me a dolphin hug. It seems that everyone involved here has. If the crew had instead decided cows were worthy of such drama, they could find images just as horrible and shocking at a local slaughterhouse. The only time human people are mentioned is regarding the mercury level in dolphin meat, which gets 1 scene relative to 10 scenes swimming with dolphins.

I figured that this was just another activist documentary. Preachy and simplistic, you know? And it is, but it's better than I thought it would be. I mean, when the people in The Cove begin to speak about "the government" being responsible for this "cover-up," I mentally check out. They make the Japanese Representative to the International Whaling Commission, which they describe as a symbolic and toothless organization, into the villain of the film, simply because narratively it needs one. Lazy.