It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

If you want to watch a movie with a lot of sea creatures, this is it. Otherwise nothing else.

The mystery, the excitement, the danger… ah the boredom of getting wet. The Canadian production "The Neptune Factor" is a typical underwater disaster adventure that rarely gets going and when it does it's quite an unremarkable and unimaginative foray… in a cheaply presented magnified fish tank. The problem is like a lot of other reviewers mentioned, is that nothing much happens. A lot of peering and ponderous talking… with little interest to it all. A group of American scientists are conducting an experiment involving underwater living until an earthquake occurs causing a research facility to fall into the abyss. They only have so many hours before they're out of oxygen, so a crew in a mini submarine are sent down to find them despite the risks of more aftershocks. Really the taut situation that unfolds should sell it in a threatening, pressure-induced manner, but instead we get a padded out story with a very limp rhythm. No urgency left it with any sustained suspense lingering only on stolid dramas of a threadbare narrative and static direction. There's a few dazzling glimpses when the crew is exploring the murky abyss, but the model sub and the overblown sea life didn't create any sort of thrills and when it tried it was quite laughable in its execution. The performances don't fair any better, despite the best efforts of Ernest Borgnine and Walter Pidgeon. As for Ben Gazzera and Yvette Mimieux, they come across very bland. Composer Lalo Schifran contributes the score. Established, but too plain to be fun.

The Neptune Factor deals with some scientists who live and work out of an undersea lab in the Atlantic Ocean. One fine day while their bosses, Walter Pidgeon, Yvette Mimieux, and Ernest Borgnine are up top, an earthquake occurs and the lab topples over into an underwater crevice.Though an atomic power submarine could stay down there indefinitely the problem is that crevice is way too small for one of those big boys. A smaller type submarine able to withstand the pressures of the very deep is needed and that's where Ben Gazzara and his ship the Neptune come in.As disaster films go The Neptune Factor is small potatoes special effects wise. It's a Canadian production and I've seen Hollywood come up with worse films spending a ton more money than was done here.The special effects such as they are, are merely movie films of some ordinary species of marine life blown up several times their size, because these are the creatures the crew finds down at depths that man hasn't been before. It's beautiful undersea photography just like a trip to Marineland.It's a no frills production, no subplots of any kind, no social interaction of any kind with the crew, just do the mission and go home. That's why it was given a G rating when first released.If you love Jacques Cousteau, you'll love this film.

This is an adorable little kids movie from the '70's. 5 stars is pushin it for this one, though. It's not bad but its by no means good. It's just really endearing, in its own out-dated way. So, OK, you've got Ben Gazarra, Ernest Borgnine, and superhuge seahorses in an undersea adventure/race-against-time-kind of thing. I wonder if the guys and 'bots over at MST3K ever got a hold on this one? It would be perfect material for them. It's lame in a wonderful way. If you like Benny Gazzarra, and/or Ernest Borgnine, and would possibly be interested in seeing them marvel at superhuge seahorses when they're in this superdeep sea rift, then I think you should see this movie. No. I urge you to see it.