An expose on SeaWorld's practice of extracting killer whales from the wild and breeding them while confined to restrictive tanks that threaten the safety of both man and beast. Gabriela Cowperthwaite's documentary focuses largely on the story of Tilikum, an orca who has profitably propagated a profusion of progeny for parks worldwide and has killed three people during his time in captivity. Since its release, Blackfish has had a major impact on public opinion and SeaWorld's bottom line by creating immediacy not only with incredible, heart pounding footage but by bucking genre trends in crafting a succinct, well informed doc with perceptive commentators actually worth listening to.
*** 1/2 out of ****
