In the Heart of the Sea (3D)

WARNING: There could be what some consider spoilers in this review. Nothing too major. Still, read at your own risk.

I remember seeing trailers for In the Heart of the Sea well over a year ago. From what I've heard, it was originally scheduled to come out back in March but got pushed back until now so that it could compete during Oscar season. I thought it looked interesting... Oh who am I kidding? I just wanted to see this because of Chris Hemsworth. Good god that man is gorgeous! To my surprise the movie ended up being pretty decent. I mean, it wasn't great but it had its moments. 

The movie tells the true story that inspired Herman Melville's Moby Dick. In 1820 a whaling ship called the Essex and its crew, which includes first mate Owen Chase (Chris Hemsworth) who should really be captain instead of rich dumbass George Pallard (Benjamin Walker), set sail from Nantucket. They are then preyed upon by a giant whale that destroys their ship and strands them at sea for 90 days. During that time, they must all do se extreme things in order to survive. 

I'll say this about director Ron Howard- he knows how to make good movies (I like to pretend that his version of How the Grinch Stole Christmas doesn't exist). I loved his last movie Rush which deserved way more attention than it got. With this, there's some really nice special effects and cinematography. And all of the actors give amazing and at times heartbreaking performances. 

One thing I didn't care for as far as the direction goes was some of the camera work. It made me so nauseous at points that I had to close my eyes. I mean I expected it since most of the movie takes place at sea but still... Not fun. 

And another thing, Ron Howard does way too much telling and not enough showing. Which I can understand since there's some things you just can't show and keep it at a PG-13 rating. Mainly the scene where the crew had to resort to cannibalism otherwise they'll starve to death. I'm really glad he didn't show that. But for other reasons I wish he had home for an R rating. 

The ending of the movie felt extremely rushed. It could've benefited from being maybe 20 minutes longer. If you insist on seeing this in theaters do not I repeat DO NOT see it in 3D. It isn't even that noticeable at all. I had to keep looking over my glasses to make sure I was at the right screening. I would've preferred seeing it in 2D but those show times just didn't work for me. 

I know it sounds like I'm saying this is a bad movie but I'm not. It's actually good. I probably won't watch it again though. If you're a fan of Ron Howard or Chris Hemsworth by all means check it out (I would just wait until it comes to Netflix). They're a great team and I hope they do more movies together in the future. 

My Rating: 7.5/10