★★☆☆☆

I was horribly disappointed with In the Heart of the Sea. I know, working with elements is how a director proves the size of their manhood. Ron Howard has been seeking scripts with large scale natural elements since Backdraft. I understand this. Have even heard many directors state in interviews that water is the most difficult natural element to work with. I get that. Still, it doesn’t mean the movie has to suck.

Okay, Moby-Dick is a tale told many times over and we’ve all had to read it or at least part of it in school. Yes, this is in large part a biography, not the fanciful tale told by the novel or the tale redone many times over in film.

The Life Boat Fetish

I guess I’m really tired of seeing men in life rafts/boats out at sea for eons. For some inexplicable reason Hollywood has that fetish again. Was also quite put out they spent so much time on resorting to cannibalism to survive. Yes, it happened. Yes, I’m sure it added immensely to the “survivor’s guilt.” Providing them with yet another dark trauma to live with. I just didn’t want to deal with that much of it in a movie.

Chris Hemsworth does a fine job of acting and plays the role as well as anyone could; it’s just that the script sucked. Honestly, I believe In the Heart of the Sea only got made because Ron Howard wanted to prove to the world he could work with water. I like Ron Howard, and much of what he does. One can even understand wanting to put this notch in your belt while you still have the industry clout to get it funded. Just wish marketing hadn’t tried to sell it as another “Moby Dick.” That set an expectation for the audience (me) and this movie fell incredibly short.

For more movie rental ideas please see list one and list two.