At first, James Cameron's reclusive behaviour in post-Titanic Hollywood appeared to be justified by his inability to find a suitable project to follow up his box office smashing epic.

Things are not quite that clear cut, however. Instead of working on a new sci-fi thriller or historical blockbuster, Cameron has been busy immersing himself in the deep blue sea.

It's no surprise that the creator of The Abyss and Titanic is fascinated with the ocean, funding many dives to the ocean floor to either study the infamous sunken liner or the life forms that live out of reach of the Earth's sun.

Aliens Of The Deep is a documentary that explains, in minute detail, the work of the marine biologists that Cameron has been hanging out with, far from the madding world of Los Angeles.

Using Imax technology, Cameron intends to make schoolwork interesting with an approach to documentary making that is closer in presentation to that of his Hollywood fare.

Cameron is clearly well versed in the use of Imax, and Aliens Of The Deep doesn't fail on a single level visually – the introduction of the biologists and Jim himself would be mind numbingly boring but for the immediate fascination of these people appearing to be just a few feet away from your oversized spectacles.

Yet, quite what Cameron hopes to achieve in a 50-minute documentary is unclear. One of the biologists involved is actually a member of SETI – the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence. And Cameron uses this guy's presence to juxtapose the world of deep-sea fish to that of outer space.

The old adage that we know more about space best sums up the the basis of this movie, and the startling array of marine life that is seemingly thrust into your face is undeniably fascinating.

This is as close as many of us are ever likely to get to animals that very few people have ever seen. At one point, Cameron quips: "This is far more interesting than any Hollywood special effects."

Unfortunately, it isn't. And Cameron knows this, hence the most interesting part of the movie being a special effects driven sequence that outlines the plan to visit Europia, one of Saturn's many moons, but one that may hold the secrets to extra terrestrial life.

That's not to say Aliens Of The Deep isn't interesting, It is, in sort of a National Geographic way. In fact, Dickie Attenborough has recently produced a documentary that charts similar life forms in greater depth.

But then Dickey never gives you a chance to see the fish in a 3-D form.

If watched in conjunction with Cameron's other effort, Ghosts Of The Abyss, Aliens Of The Deep could be part of an interesting Imax experience. But as a stand alone feature, it barely scratches the surface of what the sea, and indeed Imax, can offer.

Rich Phippen