Starting in 1850 with Author of the novel Moby Dick, Herman Melville (Ben Whishaw) visits innkeeper Thomas Nickerson (Brendan Gleeson) the last remaining survivor of a last voyage by the whaling vessel Essex for an account of the events and while initially reluctant he is persuaded by his wife to recount the tale so we return to thirty years previous where Nickerson (Tom Holland) is a cabin boy on the newly fitted ship where the ship is being led by first mate, experienced whaler Owen Chase (Chris Hemsworth) and an inexperienced captain George Pollard (Benjamin Walker) who initially clash but must learn to put their differences aside in order to ensure that they do not cause both the sinking of the ship and the death of their crew. When their Atlantic search proves they decide to head to the Pacific where they are advised by a Spanish captain that the waters are much more fruitful but he also tells of a huge albino whale which attached their fleet. Unperturbed the crew head out to find their bounty but get far more than they bargained for in the giant whale and so it becomes a test of man versus beast and nature in order to survive.

The acting was fine in so far as the script would allow, with Holland holding his own as the likable cabin boy, Walker playing the under qualified but aristocratic captain well and Hemsworth taking center stage as the fat too overqualified first mate resentful of the position he is in. I was disappointed with the under use of Cillian Murphy as Matthew Joy, as the moments when he was involved his talent shone through, there were just too few of them.

You know when Ron Howard is in charge that, in general, you are going to get a good movie and in that sense he has provided an entertaining adventure on the seas where men must face their own fears which need to be conquered and must dig deep within themselves in order to survive so it that sense it works, but the question here is does the movie want to be a retelling of the tale that inspired Moby Dick, is it a survival tale based around the adventures of the Essex ship and its crew or is it a moralistic tale about the negativity of whaling? I found it a little of all, which was potentially the movies downfall. I was very much reminded of the situation in Apollo 13 when watching this movie although it never tugged the heart strings or has those edge of your seat moments of that movie and instead felt like a bunch of individuals who all had their own desires and agendas who were thrown into a situation but the camaraderie and bond I would have expected never really came through on screen.

It’s a watchable movie as the cinematography is superb and the ship scenes are very realistic, due to the fact that a full scale replica of the original ship was built for the film. The CGI on the whales is excellent and it never feels like the actors are not in the depth of the action when it occurs. There just a lack of spark in the movie which I can only attribute to the desire to be a tale of many levels instead of focusing on one area. It’s worth checking out if only for the excellent camera work but as for me I think I’d rather just watch Jaws again.

DJ Speaks Rating: 5.5 Out Of 10