Okay so there are two ways you can go about a film with this kind of a premise.
The first is you make a 1980s over the top action thriller with Big steaks choreography. With really on the nose greedy businessmen as the villains and a ridiculous plot to assassinate somebody of high office. In this case the US president.
You have George C Scott play an action man who is pretty much just a scientist in name. You get some interesting choreography with the dolphins and then you spend a lot more time with bombs explosives and the idea of dolphins as bombs.
Or
Make a character drama revolving around the plight of the Dolphins, the study of the Dolphins. The humanity of the dolphins. Than you mix that with high emotional performances from George C Scott and Trish Van Devere.
Have them may be at odds with each other over the experimentation and time develop into the Dolphins or even keep your espionage plot from the original film. But have it site more to stealing of resources or Trade Secrets. Something that involves the Dolphins as commodities.
Maybe go the extreme route and have it be environmentalists with a radical disposition. Turn it into a film about the freedom of the Dolphins and rather or not George C Scott's character is in fact doing a good thing; keeping these dolphins in captivity for scientific or educational value.
Have a crisis of conscience plot with George C Scott and show his character motivations change as the film progresses.
Honestly there's a lot of human interest stories and heartwarming dramatic tales of be told with this premise.
But what you probably shouldn't do is try to mix action and drama together.
Otherwise you end up with the film we have here.
An ambitious little project involving really good dolphin choreography and some decent performances. But also mixed in with this weird government agency plot with corporate reconnaissance and applied it to kill the US president.
All predicated on the idea of dolphins that can speak English and are able to understand complex bombing manoeuvres.
It just feels really confusing. And the entire aspect of your film changes about two-thirds of the way in.
Which doesn't help the pacing any as your initial Investments in the characters kind of go down the tubes.
Then there's the actual voice of the Dolphins when they speak, which isn't horrible but it's not great either.
They sound just a little too silly.
On a personal note I just don't like the idea of dolphins being used as a performance piece for movies.
It just seems a little cruel especially given our more modern understanding of a lot of these Dolphins were treated for entertainment value.
It upsets me a little bit seeing it here but at least I know that we don't really do this now.
I'd be flat against this film if it was made today.
Overall this it's a movie with a lot of potential and some good solid moments. But just ultimately doesn't work out.
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