Released in late 2015 In the Heart of the Sea, or as I like to refer to it 'Chris Hemsworth vs. A Big Whale', didn't do well with critics or at the box-office. While I do think there are parts of a good movie here, it doesn't completely deliver the goods.
The film is about an old man named Thomas (played by Brendan Gleeson) recounting the story of his survival when he was a young lad aboard a whaling ship named Essex in 1820. Crew of the Essex is played by some pretty good actors like Benjamin Walker as the Captain, Tom Holland as the young version of Thomas, and Chris Hemsworth as Owen the first mate who's accent is inconsistent throughout. There's a lot of sailing around searching for whales early on, and this part of the film could've been trimmed down a bit. However, the whole thing picks up when the crew encounters a Moby Dick-esque whale that destroys the Essex, leaving them stranded on the ocean in much smaller whaling boats. They drift along helplessly with little food or water, and even reluctantly decide to cannibalize the dead. After several weeks stranded at sea a few men who survived are actually rescued. There's also a bit toward the end about the whale oil company trying to deny that a whale destroyed one of their ships, but this didn't add much to the film for me.
Overall, I like a lot of these actors, Ron Howard is a good director, and there are some really captivating visuals. There just isn't enough to push this one over the line from solid movie to great movie.
I give it a 3 out of 5.
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