In the Heart of the Sea (2015) Film Review

In the Heart of the Sea is an interesting film because its original appeal has suddenly vanished. Despite gaining some early traction when it scheduled for a March 2015 release date, and when it was later moved to December in slots which make it mostly avoid facing the enormous Star Wars Episode VII it was considered a good move to be alongside its Oscar contemporaries. And yet, mere weeks before its release, all that traction evaporated for unforeseen reasons, and with a middling critical response and failing to defeat the final entry of The Hunger Games franchise in its fourth weekend of release the film has simply become whale chow for Star Wars. With many considering its failure being a part of Chris Hemsworth's fault (outside of the Marvel Cinematic Universe he's had little success in a lead role) or auteur Ron Howard's limited popularity, can the story which set up the American classic Moby Dick be an underrated find or deserving to be mauled?

In 1820, one Thomas Nickerson (Tom Holland) is about to embark on his first voyage as part of the whale oil trade which had recently gained huge success in his area. Leading the voyage is one George Pollard (Benjamin Walker), hired solely for his family heritage within the industry to the dismay of First Mate Owen Chase (Hemsworth) who had been promised the role of Captain following his previous voyage. Nonetheless, the crew of the Essex sets sail with the usual goal of obtaining whale oil goes awry when – against the word of warning from a fellow oil-seeker in one of the countries they visit – they hunt in an area protected by a destructive and unstoppable white whale, who ends up killing or destroying the lives of everyone on the Essex – not only losing all their oil but also their refuge and any way they can get home.

While a slight sense of intrigue is lost in the factor that Holland's character is played in an older form by Brendan Gleeson, repeatedly seen discussing the events that transpired to Moby Dick author Herman Melville (everyone's favourite Peruvian bear Ben Whishaw), the story remains enticing and interesting when the crew set sail towards the hunting area – with the opening few minutes where we see the crew introduced and come to grips with everything being a slow-paced but required proportion that likely won't hold up on repeat viewings. But as I said, once things actually get started In the Heart of the Sea does become interesting with an engaging ensemble piece and some particularly exciting moments. That being said though, it doesn't offer anything entirely new (the story itself was even adapted a couple of years back in mini-series form), so while it is an interesting viewing it does mostly rely on how much you care for the characters and its direction, which sadly isn't as strong as it should be. 

As evident by some of his other hits such as Rush, Ron Howard does have a strong sense of direction when it comes to his movies, and In the Heart of the Sea is no exception. While he tends to deviate to a number of leading line shots which feel mostly there for the sense of giving the non-Whale sequences an extra bounce of 3D, there aren't any shots which are badly-done or disinteresting; with even the 1850-based discussions between Melvile and Nickerson showing some artistic flair in the otherwise generic darkly-lit scenery. But those recurring leading lines are something of a distraction due to their sheer number of recurrences.

Despite Gleeson being the narrator of Holland's experiences, it's actually Hemsworth who's the lead here, and he does a great job at being the most engaging character. He's instantly given a crux for returning home in one piece and his fast obsession at both wanting to be the Captain and wanting the demon whale dead are portrayed naturally and easily. Not to mention his well-publicised weight loss being a tremendous job, it's a pity that the actor is getting blamed for the film's failure because he does a good enough job. Sea rival Walker is a little more stereotypical in terms of 'rich snob who got in because of family', but he does a good enough performance and by the time the third act sails in he becomes all the more interesting. Second mate Cillian Murphy is also doing a fine job but there's very little character depth given to him other than an understated friendship between his character and Owen Chase, whilst Tom Holland does well as the ship's greenhorn (and likewise Gleeson as his older self does as fine a job as ever against the always-great Whishaw). The rest of the crew however don't really get much chance to shine despite how massive an occasion the whale attack is to them, with the only exception being Frank Dillane as Owen Coffin, Captain George Pollard's younger cousin. That said, despite limited distinctive character traits between them all, the crew of the Essex are fine as a whole. 

In the Heart of the Sea is one of the forgotten finds of the heavily-crowded sea that is the awards season. While there isn't anything overly spectacular or new about the adaptation, it does at the very least offer up so good viewing and an interesting character piece where Chris Hemsworth shines, with Ron Howard remaining a strong (if not a little repetitive in this case) director and a good choice for this ocean tale. 7/10.

Doctor Who at 10 - The Christmas Invasion (S2E0)

Season's Greetings! It's hard to believe that 10 years ago today , we were blessed with the first full-fledged appearance of the ever-popular incarnation of the Doctor played by Scottish-born David Tennant (albeit in limited form, due to the nature of his Doctor spending the majority of this episode in his pyjamas Arthur Dent-style and sleeping with fruit), nor that it's been ten years since the introduction of the now traditional Doctor Who Christmas special – the only one prior also celebrating its 50th anniversary today in the form of The Feast of Steven. But as per the norm this year, to celebrate the festive season and David Tennant's introduction into the magical world of the Doctor, it only seems appropriate that we look back at an episode which really be considered more highly due to what it brings in. 

Set swiftly on in Rose (Billie Piper) and the newly-regenerated Doctor (Tennant)'s adventures following from a near-death experience with the Daleks in Bad Wolf/The Parting of the Ways, the TARDIS crash-lands back on the Powell Estate to a shocked Jackie and Mickey (Camille Coduri and Noel Clarke respectively) with an awful lot of questions. With the Doctor now out of action, Rose can do little but live life as per normal, but with both a set of evil Santas and later a rock-based species known as the Sycorax – who embarked upon the planet for slavery purposes when they come across a UK-built satellite meant to be a call for contact – there's no time for celebrations for the Tyler clan and newly-elected Prime Minister Harriet Jones (Penelope Wilton, reprising her role from Aliens of London/World War Three). Will the Doctor-les team be able to get past these two threats or will they succumb to their demands? 

Story-wise, you have a very simplistic tale with an easy-to-follow premise: Doctor resting, Santas briefly turn up as early invasion, then main threat turn up. There's a slight level of complexity in the form of how the Sycorax make themselves known, but it's nothing intelligent; just a little more in-depth than the rest of it. And indeed, within the story comes some interesting character beats, as for the first time in six months the viewer gets a deeper delve into the thoughts of Rose, who takes a good proportion of the focus as the audiences' guide to this new version of the Doctor. Also helping is the level of entertainment involved; the more comedic tale has bizarre twist and turns such as the murderous festive ornament ("I'm going to get killed by a Christmas tree!") and even some witty dialogue from time to time; not to mention keeping true to form with the sciencey know-how with the refreshing appearance of alien dialect and the sequences in the UNIT base. If there is a gripe in the story, it is perhaps that it takes just a little too long to get things started, with just a lot of worrying about for the Doctor's health which frankly is repeated throughout numerous parts of the episode – understandable in terms of the characters being intrigued by this occurrence, but a little annoying for audiences. 

In terms of villainy, the Sycorax are a little lacking. Certainly, they show true might early on with their ability to take control of a percentage of the Earth's population and the amount of damage caused by the arrival of their ship (with effects which have dated a little but still leave a strong impact), but as soon as the Doctor turns up and shows them up, they come across a whole lot weaker, not helped by their rather disappointing ending which – while making for an interesting conclusion in terms of the humanoid characters – just seems undeserving. Granted, it's that which makes it all the more powerful, but it's still a little iffy. Plus the Pilot Fish are a simple threat which do feel like they could have been cut out quite easily if not for the fact that they add some additional action to the piece. Interesting spectacle, but they don't reach any level of note outside of that until The Runaway Bride the following Christmas. Both races have good designwork though, and as aforementioned the presence of actual alien dialect makes for a far-memorable species.

As far as an introductory episode for a new Doctor goes, the lack of actual Tennant is an interesting decision by writer/showrunner Russell T. Davies (god that feels refreshing to type). By no means a new approach for the series, it is an odd choice to have him somewhat comatose for an otherwise festive episode. Certainly, he gets his moments during the first two acts and a heroic return in the third against the Sycorax leader, and Tennant himself is a fine actor during these sequences, but unlike past introduction stories you never really come to gripes with what this new Doctor is like – he doesn't know yet, and as such we don't either. Meanwhile, the entire Tyler clan remain on form in the Doctor's absence with Piper taking a good shot at keeping control over things. The return of Penelope Wilton is always a welcome sight with evident character growth in the 6-7 months since her first appearance, with her assistant Adam Garcia doing a good enough job as a simple employee. As for the UNIT personnel, there isn't really anyone of note, with Daniel Evans, Chu Omambala and Anita Briem all being serviceable enough – the same of which can be extended to Sean Gilder as the leader of the Sycorax.

The Christmas Invasion may have some minor niggles, but this Christmas special is just the right amount of festive and focused on its key story, of which is a fine one which just needed a little more tuning. Acting is fine, but as far as introductory episodes go Tennant's is best presented in the final third. Thankfully what precedes it makes the pay-off all the more satisfying, so The Christmas Invasion is saved by that. It's a fine episode to re-watch, but a tad overlong. 8/10.