Beanbioca As Good As It Gets

Huievest Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

BeSummers Funny, strange, confrontational and subversive, this is one of the most interesting experiences you'll have at the cinema this year.

Myron Clemons A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

TBJCSKCNRRQTreviews Horatio(Gruffudd, imbuing the role with a strong sense of honor and pride) begins his naval career at 17, in the year of 1793. In spite of various circumstances being against him, he does, in time, fare well with the other midshipmen(if you don't know a lot of Navy lingo, you will want to keep a dictionary on hand, and a finger on the pause-button). Then, Simpson(Healy, making for a truly reprehensible antagonist) returns, and his abusive behavior, thus far tolerated by the other low-level(none of the officers know about it) workers, leads to a feud with our titular protagonist.I haven't read the novels, but if this is anything to go by, it's no wonder they were deemed worthy of adapting. This is an excellent first chapter, and sets the scene for numerous more - I look forward to taking in the following seven. Thoroughly well-acted, filmed compellingly(though you can, at times, tell this was made for television), credible with a richness of detail(many subtle ones), all characters developed well - and with a pace that features many events and people, without rushing ahead to fit it all in. The realism is impressive - there are some elements that make it clear that this is fiction, a dramatization crafted around things that have happened, and with how gripping this is, you easily forgive that. It goes into universally human themes - respect, discipline, friendship, etc.There is a bit of brutal, bloody, disturbing and violent content in this - it is quite honest in its depiction of the many nasty, potential consequences of sea-faring, and ship-based warfare, of the time. I recommend this to any fan of drama and historical adventure. 8/10

felix-alongshore In my opinion the film does not exploit the full potential of the story. Ioan Gruffudd is great in the Hornblower role, but at least some of the supporting actors play not as convincing as he does. For example Dorian Healy, the bad guy, appeals threatening primarily through the lighting and the music, not so much through his acting. The captains are portrayed in a rather static way. At times the cutting is clumsy, in particular during naval battles. There are no aesthetically outstanding images. The music is expectable and too conventional. You immediately realize that this is a TV production with less resources behind it than a cinema production such as "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World" (2003), which is far more impressive.

Roger Eriksen Another commentator wrote:"First of all, a note about the American titles for this mini-series: what's wrong with you people? Can't you leave a title alone? Or do you think your crowd is so dumb, they wouldn't understand the title that the makers gave it? Why did you have to change "The Even Chance" into "The Duel", for instance (and the other titles as well)? Translating a foreign title is one thing. Altering (and totally ruining) an existing title is something else."Please do not blame Americans for making changes to movie titles alone. Many films have their titles changed for marketing reasons. Back in 1981, I was on an underground platform in London that had a poster for the American film with Sigourney Weaver and William Hurt called "Eyewitness"; but the London tile was "The Janitor". How strange! Maybe they changed it because another film at the time had the same name? Or perhaps this new name sounded more "American" to British ears.Also, about how this was not marketed well in the US, it may be due to some marketing director assuming that US audiences don't appreciate British TV very well. You must also understand that many Americans do not understand many British accents and have a hard time understanding these foreign dialects. I know from my own experience as a Canadian- American living in New Zealand that it takes a while to understand not only the accents, but also the slang words.Regardless, I am looking forward to renting this series, as it has been highly recommended by my sister (American) who LOVED every episode and wish they would show it again on American TV.

grahamsj3 I'm not planning to review each episode of this outstanding mini series separately, so this review is for all of them. I love this series. In my opinion, it is one of the most realistic series about sailing ships ever produced. There is a good bit of adventure, drama, war and even a bit of humor to be found. If anybody ever wanted to know what life was like for both Officers and "enlisted" men in the British Navy during the age of sail, this is the series to tell the story. The acting is superb throughout the entire series. The tale is entirely believable, based on the book(s) by C.S. Foster and beautifully adapted to film. I have just finished watching the first 6 episodes, which is what was sold as the original DVD set. I understand that there are two more DVDs available and I will endeavor to get my hands on them ASAP. Lest you worry that ladies might not like it, I think they will. These are not "war movies" at all, although there is war aplenty in them. But there is enough other intrigue to keep anyone's interest. Highly recommended!