IT'S a tough month to release a would-be blockbuster that doesn't have the words 'Star' and 'Wars' somewhere in its title, never mind a period seafaring epic based on a true life tale that inspired one of literature's greatest works, Moby Dick.
Despite having the capable Ron 'Apollo 13' Howard at its helm (and reuniting him with Rush star Chris 'Thor' Hemsworth), In The Heart of The Sea has already sunk almost without trace at the US box office, taking just $11.1 million on its opening weekend – a disaster for any $100m budgeted movie.
Perhaps modern audiences just aren't as captivated by the ocean as they once were – blame those increasingly shoddy Pirates of The Caribbean sequels, perhaps, though even the excellent Russell Crowe vehicle Master & Commander ran aground at the box office – but the only swashbuckling tale that's guaranteed to make bank these days involves lightsaber-wielding space folk.
That's a bit of a shame, as In The Heart of The Sea's loosely reality-based account of the New England whaling ship Essex's running battle with a infeasibly large sperm whale makes for a pretty entertaining yarn, all things considered.
The film draws us in with a completely fabricated introduction in which Moby Dick author Herman Melville (Ben Whishaw) journeys to Nantucket to track down elusive Essex survivor Thomas Nickerson (Brendan Gleeson and Tom Holland in subsequent 'flashbacks'), coaxing out his terrible whale tale during a long, dark whiskey-fuelled night of revelation.
Plenty of corny moments follow: some business with Hemsworth's whaling veteran Owen Chase and his pregnant wife might as well come with a flashing 'EMOTIONAL INVESTMENT SCENE' title card, while the class-based clashes between first mate Chase's buff blue collar whale hunter and the Essex's privileged wet-behind-the-ears captain George Pollard (Benjamin Walker) feel a tad over-familiar at this late stage of the genre's evolution.
Of course, after initially butting heads, the pair go on earn each other's mutual respect as they battle against the blubbery behemoth that takes deadly exception to their activities.
This proves to be pretty damn entertaining and occasionally genuinely harrowing thanks to winning performances by all involved, including Cillian Murphy as Chase's number two Matthew Joy.
To their credit, the cast totally commit to the material at hand, as most visibly evidenced by their uncomfortably authentic weight loss during the film's final starvation-themed third.
Admittedly, Hemsworth and co often can't seem to decide what accent to run, but if there's anything that harpoons In The Heart of The Sea's momentum, it's the vast amount of dodgy CGI Howard has employed to bring his action-packed film to life.
Occasionally, the whalers of the Essex seem to be weathering ferocious storms from within a bizarre, gauzily lit CGI cocoon as they pursue clearly computerised sea beasts.
Perhaps this plays better in the 3D version (doubtful, as this was created via a post-production conversion), but it definitely jars in the 'flat' varient, especially when Howard cuts to longer shots and underwater footage clearly involving the real ocean and its inhabitants and thus repeatedly shows up the CGI renderings as videogame-esque fakery.
Additionally, much of the picture is awash in a bizarre, golden haze reminiscent of a Turner painting that lends a displeasingly unreal feel to some of its most intense scenes, an aesthetic choice hardly suited to a gritty tale of ocean-based survival involving violent death and cannibalism.
Still, overall In The Heart of The Sea manages to wring a mildly hokey yet decently entertaining film out of its dramatic-license-heavy retelling of the Essex's harrowing real life – for the true bill, read Nathaniel Philbrick's fascinating, recently reissued book of the same title.
If you don't fancy Star Wars, this sea-bound story makes a decent, engaging alternative.
IN THE HEART OF THE SEA (15, 121mins)
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Benjamin Walker, Cillian Murphy, Tom Holland, Brendan Gleeson, Ben Whishaw. Director: Ron Howard
THREE STARS
