Review of In the Heart of the Sea (2015) by Dragonsfoe . — 02 May 2016

Not quite a whale of a tale.

In the Heart of the Sea is a serviceable film. There are moments where it is very effective in its objective and then there are other moments where the film just drags. The film is carried by a solid cast, and a fantastic filmmaker, but it just ends up being pedestrian compared to HowardÃÃ,Ã,Ã,Ã,Ã,Ã,Ã,Ã,Ã,Ã,Ã,Ã,Ã,Ã,Ã,Ã,Ã,Ã,Ã,Ã,¢(TM)s previous on-screen attempts.

The film, which is beautiful and visually compelling, possesses brilliant special effects and sound design. It felt as though the audience was actually present at sea. One thing that the film also benefits from is its director, who clearly elevates what could have been a very unmemorable experience. There are also points of the film, which has a fine cast led by the likes of Hemsworth and surprisingly great Tom Holland, that really are really impactful and melancholy and really hit with the audience.

On the other end, the film is very slow. The pacing is weak at points and due to the fact that most of the characters are 1-dimensional, some of the parts that should have been impactful did not hit. But when it is effective it really does hit. The filmÃÃ,Ã,Ã,Ã,Ã,Ã,Ã,Ã,Ã,Ã,Ã,Ã,Ã,Ã,Ã,Ã,Ã,Ã,Ã,Ã,¢(TM)s story also ends up feeling very simple and could have definitely been worse without HowardÃÃ,Ã,Ã,Ã,Ã,Ã,Ã,Ã,Ã,Ã,Ã,Ã,Ã,Ã,Ã,Ã,Ã,Ã,Ã,Ã,¢(TM)s involvement in the project.

Overall, Howard elevated a film that would have been mediocre without him. Even though it has a very slow pace it still remains to be an entertaining movie with a solid cast and intense action sequences.

Rating: 7.5 (B).