Decius wrote:
] I think this movie will be underseen domestically, as it
] covers a geeky subject, isn't violent enough, offers no love
] interest, and doesn't involve Americans. However, I enjoyed it
] alot. Escapism? Maybe. Its a Star Trek episode set in the
] 1700s. You get an impression of the life of the olde Navy,
] back when sailing the South Seas was to push the edges of
] human experience.

of course, being a big budget movie, there's about 1000 times more action in it than was in the books, apparently, at the expense of developing the relationship between the the commander and his great friend. i haven't seen it yet, but the review i read was predictably disappointed that the movie strayed so far from what the author intended to convey.

that being said, having not read the books, it could be quite enjoyable. i know they went to great lengths to make the sounds precise and really capture the feeling of being on that boat with them, so that's good.

inignoct wrote:
] Decius wrote:
] ] I think this movie will be underseen domestically, as it
] ] covers a geeky subject, isn't violent enough, offers no love
]
] ] interest, and doesn't involve Americans. However, I enjoyed
] it
] ] alot. Escapism? Maybe. Its a Star Trek episode set in the
] ] 1700s. You get an impression of the life of the olde Navy,
] ] back when sailing the South Seas was to push the edges of
] ] human experience.
]
] of course, being a big budget movie, there's about 1000 times
] more action in it than was in the books, apparently, at the
] expense of developing the relationship between the the
] commander and his great friend. i haven't seen it yet, but
] the review i read was predictably disappointed that the movie
] strayed so far from what the author intended to convey.
]
] that being said, having not read the books, it could be quite
] enjoyable. i know they went to great lengths to make the
] sounds precise and really capture the feeling of being on that
] boat with them, so that's good.

Being an avid fan of the books, I personally was not disappointed in the movie - even though it suffers a bit from being a highlight reel of memorable moments from the entire 20-odd book series. It succeeds as an action film without subscribing to any of the typical action-movie devices - in fact, it plays very much like an art film/action movie fusion, something you just don't see every day. Perhaps not what middle America is prepared for, but definately doesn't suck.