THE 5TH WAVE

With The Hunger Games series having reached the finishing line, the Divergent/Allegiant/Detergent (must look that one up) trilogy drifting towards its conclusion and The Maze Runner…. err… running out of steam, it’s no great surprise to find that Hollywood has been casting a lascivious eye over the bookshelves of our more hormonal teens and decided that Rick Yancey’s alien invasion trilogy (only two titles of which have been released so far) deserves the big screen treatment. Fair enough. The 5th Wave is a decent book, a bit edgier than many of its type, but this slightly bland adaptation does it few favours and largely fails to capture its grittiness and disquieting sense of the genuinely apocalyptic.

Chloë Grace Moretz plays young Cassie Sullivan, orphaned in the aftermath of an alien invasion that has struck in five distinct waves; an electromagnetic pulse shuts down the power, earthquakes and tidal waves devastate the cities, a virulent Avian virus wipes out many survivors, alien snipers pick off others, and finally the aliens manage to take over human bodies making it virtually impossible for them to be distinguishable from humans themselves. Cassie sets off to rescue her younger brother Sam, taken by the military to be trained into a crack resistance force apparently consisting entirely of tots and teenagers, but is injured and finds herself falling in with the brooding, mysterious woods-dwelling Evan Walker (Roe). Inevitably, young hormones do what they will do but Evan isn’t quite who he seems and neither, for that matter, are the military as they send their miniature warriors into battle.

This is all well and good and there’s nothing much wrong here. But the film’s pace and tone are all over the place. The big set pieces are front-loaded into the first twenty minutes of the film and we don’t see a great deal of the carnage the aliens cause as their subsequent ‘waves’ pummel the Earth. The film seems to be in a rush to set out its post-invasion stall and we’re left with a film which places its emphasis on Cassie mooning over Evan (the scene where she virtually flutters her eyelashes on seeing him taking a topless wash in a lake can only elicit sniggers from the audience) and scenes which evoke unwanted memories of the lifeless Ender’s Game as the military-enlisted kids are trained for battle. The energy level starts to rise again in the last reel but we’re still just left with scenes of teenagers running around with machine guns, a few perfunctory explosions and a story that, by the nature of its source material, remains frustratingly open-ended come the credits.

The 5th Wave certainly isn’t fifth rate – Moretz acquits herself well as the no-nonsense Cassie, forced to grow up quickly in terrible circumstances – but it never shifts out of first gear and doesn’t really possess that indefinable something which powers the very best and most successful YA series. Budgeted at around $40 million, it’ll probably turn a minor worldwide Box Office profit but its poor opening weekend stateside suggests we can probably wave bye-bye to any hope of seeing the rest of the trilogy on screen anytime soon.

THE 5TH WAVE / CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR: J BLAKESON / SCREENPLAY: SUSANNAH GRANT, AKIVA GOLDSMAN, JEFF PINKNER / STARRING CHLOË GRACE MORETZ, NICK ROBINSON, RON LIVINGSTON, MAGGIE SIFF, ALEX ROWE, LIEV SCHRIEBER / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

Expected rating: 7 out of 10

Actual rating:
  

ROOM

Five-year-old Jack lives in Room with his ma. He’s always lived in Room with his Ma. It’s the only world he knows. It’s the only world that exists. Sometimes Old Nick comes into Room in the night when Jack is sleeping – or pretending to sleep – in the wardrobe and interferes with Ma. But usually, it’s just Jack and Ma together in Room, living their lives and having fun…

Beautifully and sensitively adapted by Emma Donoghue from her best-selling novel, Room superficially tells the uncomfortable, stifling story of a young woman kept prisoner, locked up in a cramped, dingy, barely-habitable shed for seven years and repeatedly raped by her abductee. It’s into this grim, unnatural world that Jack has been born and whilst his mother is devoted to him and does everything within her power to protect him and educate him, she’s becoming increasingly aware of the psychological straitjacket being woven around the naïve, lively child. Clearly their terrible nightmare dilemma has to end… but how to outwit the wretched Nick who keeps them secure and isolated in a garden hellhole? And how will Jack react if and when he discovers that the world doesn’t begin and end in Room?

It’s hard to define exactly what Room is and that alone is one of its many strengths. Initially, it’s a thriller, albeit one which resonates uncomfortably with real-life events (one of which inspired Donoghue’s novel) we’re all too familiar with from often lurid press reports; the shocking squalor of Ma and Jack’s situation sometimes makes Room a difficult watch, as if we’re peeking at a world too terrible to imagine. But whilst the film changes direction after about an hour – here it’s genuinely edge-of-the-seat stuff – it’s never less than utterly absorbing and engrossing and we feel Jack and Ma’s elation even as we quickly sense that there may be dark and troubling times ahead for both of them.

Back out in the real world and Room establishes its overriding themes of maternalism and the importance of family and relationships, and the need for normality in a world which is far from normal. Nothing is easy for Ma or Jack as Ma is reunited with family who thought they’d lost her forever and who are now faced with forging a relationship with a child they had no idea even existed. Ma becomes overwhelmed by the experience of being free and trying to keep Jack on an even keel as he’s introduced to a huge new world of people and places and Jack himself is at first completely swamped by what awaits him beyond Room, at first terrified and insular but later curious and acquisitive. Bree Larson and, in particular, Jake Tremblay are just astonishing as Ma and Jake although we might feel a little exasperated by some of Ma’s apparently self-centred actions later in the film.

Room is a magnificent cinematic experience deftly and sympathetically brought to the screen by Abrahamson who has coaxed stunning performances from his cast and created a haunting, uncomfortable, occasionally voyeuristic movie, which ultimately serves as a life-affirming evocation of the durability and resilience of the human spirit. Brilliant.

ROOM / CERT:15 / DIRECTOR: LENNY ABRAHAMSON / SCREENPLAY: EMMA DONOGHUE / STARRING: BREE LARSON, JACOB TREMBLAY, SEAN BRIDGERS, WENDY CREWSON, WILLIAM H MACY / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

Expected Rating: 7 out of 10
Actual Rating:
 

AMBER (SHORT FILM)

Bickering criminals on the run from Johnny law break into a young woman’s home, kill her boyfriend and proceed to… keep bickering. Caught up in the middle of it all, titular hostage Amber sits on the sofa, gagged with a belt as husband and wife chastise each other, occasionally threaten/come on to her, bitch, whine and come up with stupid plans to escape their predicament. Matters are complicated even more when the gag is removed and Amber gets stuck in too… 

At a scant twenty five minutes, Amber is a simple little psychological thriller that pits three characters against each other in a classic bit of bottle episode style storytelling. (Co) Writer and director Theo Gee handles the action well, wringing plenty of tension from Amber’s captivity in her dingy, claustrophobic living room. Chloe Crump emerges best of the three cast members (the dead boyfriend doesn’t count), the gag in her mouth preventing her from embarrassing herself as the other two do. For while the visual flourishes and writing work, for the most part, the ball is well and truly dropped by our criminal element, never coming across as scary or dangerous as they should.

It doesn’t help that the story isn’t saying as much as it thinks it is, relying on revelations that don’t hit as hard as they should, coming from characters it’s impossible to care about.  Amber’s name in the title suggests a grand mystery box at the heart of the character, but she’s more or less what she appears to be, save for a twist that was better handled in Deadly Virtues (like the whole film really – and Deadly Virtues is not even a great movie itself).

Amber shows heart and smarts, but is let down by its amateur hour acting and lack of bite. Nobody likes tearing down small budget indies like this, so, ultimately, it’s perhaps best to say nothing at all. 

AMBER / DIRECTOR: THEO GEE / SCREENPLAY: IAN BOUSCHER, THEO GEE / STARRING: CHLOE CRUMP, AJ STEVENSON, TORI HOPE / RELEASE DATE: TBA

THE REVENANT

Birdman’s Alejandro G. Inarritu’s latest effort, The Revenant, is a survival-cum-revenge movie based upon the real-life antics of Hugh Glass (and also based on Michael Punke’s The Revenant: A Novel of Revenge). Set in 1823 Louisiana, Glass (Leonardo DiCaprio) is ravaged by a bear and left for dead by his men. Focussing on his will to survive and his determination to hunt down a particular cohort who has wronged him, what unravels is a gloomy, downbeat tale of struggle, iron will and raw brutality.

To elaborate a little further on the plot, DiCaprio’s Glass, along with son Hawk (Forrest Goodluck), is part of a hunting group led by Captain Henry (Domhnall Gleeson). When Glass is ravaged by the aforementioned grizzly – itself one of the most stomach-turning scenes attached to mainstream cinema in the last few years – Henry has to make a painstaking decision whether to leave one of his best men for dead or to continue with him as part of his crew in an act that will slow down their snowy journey immeasurably and put the rest of his men in danger. It’s then that Henry tasks Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy) and Bridger (Will Poulter) with staying at the side of Glass until he takes his seemingly-inevitable final breath. The problem here, however, is that Fitzgerald is a self-serving sort with his eyes firmly on what is best for him.

The Revenant is a film that will firmly divide opinion; to many it will be a genuine masterpiece of modern cinema; to others it will be an overly-long, convoluted-yet-bland effort that never really knows what it’s trying to become. Regardless of whether you find enjoyment in the film or not, there is simply no disputing that Inarritu and his team have crafted a tale that is phenomenal to the eye; the crisp, snowy setting radiates the movie throughout, whilst the cinematography also manages to perfectly capture the bleak reality and grey skies that serve as a frame to this desperate story of one man’s determination for revenge.

There’s no doubting that DiCaprio throws himself whole-heartedly into the role of Hugh Glass, but his muffled, often-muted performance falls foul of a screenplay that at times feels far too bland to keep the attention of some. Clocking in at over 2 1/2 hours, The Revenant is certainly a lengthy watch, but the heart of the story itself may struggle to keep many viewers involved. Adding to the issues of the movie is the fact that it struggles to balance itself between being an art house effort, a survival story, and a revenge thriller, never quite pulling off the necessities required to be much of either; instead leaving the viewer with a mish-mash of a narrative that soon gets old.

The real star here is Tom Hardy, who does wonders (and is literally unrecognizable) as the no-good Fitzgerald, but his time on screen is sadly shorter that we’d have liked. When all is said and done, though, The Revenant is a matter of taste. For this writer, the film just dropped off into the realm of blandness far too often, but that’s not to say that others won’t gush plentiful over Inarritu’s latest movie.

THE REVENANT / CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR: ALEJANDRO G. INARRITU / SCREENPLAY: ALEJANDRO G. INARRITU, MARK L. SMITH / STARRING: LEONARDO DICAPRIO, TOM HARDY, DOMHNALL GLEESON, WILL POULTER, FORREST GOODLUCK / RELEASE DATE: JANUARY 15TH

Expected Rating: 8 out of 10

Actual Rating:
 

CREED

Creed is technically the latest installment in the beloved Rocky franchise, even if Sylvester Stallone’s famed Balboa isn’t the main focal point of Ryan Coogler’s film. Taking centre-stage here is Michael B. Jordan’s Adonis Johnson, the son of the late, great Apollo Creed. Having never known his father, Adonis is on a mission to follow in the footsteps of the legendary Apollo, the man who was the bestest of buds with Rocky Balboa and who died in the ring during Rocky IV. As such, the young fighter turns to the best friend of his deceased dad as he looks to pave his own career in the fight game.

What we’re given here is a film best described as an emotional rollercoaster. Is it cheesy? Hell yes, but that’s to be expected, and Creed manages to be utterly fantastic at the same time. When we first see Adonis, he’s in some sort of juvenile lock-up and communicating with his fists, and then we get introduced to the young adult version of the character. Desperate to forge his own legacy, yet clearly struggling with the burden of his father’s presence as a fighter but also dealing with having never known his old man, Adonis is a character of great depth and complexity, played out perfectly by Jordan as he ends up on a collision-course with the undefeated ‘Pretty’ Ricky Conlan (British boxer Tony Bellew).

Despite being very much a Rocky film in feel, this is definitely Michael B. Jordan’s picture. The actor who made his name in the indie hit Chronicle shows here that he has all the makings of a Hollywood leading man when given the right material to work with. Jordan brings huge emotional weight, anger, uncertainty, torment and regret to Adonis and makes him a character that you can firmly get behind for this film and in the future (there’s supposedly at least one further Creed-centric movie being planned). Still though, Stallone’s Rocky is with Adonis for the journey, and it’s fantastic to see the return of a fan favourite of film history. Here we see Rocky battling his own problems whilst doing whatever he can to give back to the son of his fallen friend, and Sly’s turn as Balboa makes you remember just why this is one of the most beloved characters in cinema history and pop culture.

Creed is a fresh start for a franchise that has had several knock downs over the years, and Ryan Coogler has managed to beautifully balance a new spin on an old favourite whilst paying enough homage and respect to what’s gone before (even elaborating on Rocky and Apollo’s famed ‘third fight’). The film powers through a whole range of emotion, never relenting for its 2-hour-plus runtime, and what could have been a played-out, by-the-numbers dud is an engaging, considerate and hugely enjoyable ride of a movie that will have audiences taking the hits and riding the highs of its principal cast as they embark on this latest chapter of the Rocky saga.

CREED / CERT: 12A / DIRECTOR: RYAN COOGLER / SCREENPLAY: RYAN COOGLER, AARON COVINGTON / STARRING: MICHAEL B. JORDAN, SYLVESTER STALLONE, TESSA THOMPSON, PHLYICIA RASHAD, GRAHAM MCTAVISH, TONY BELLEW / RELEASE DATE: JANUARY 15TH

Expected Rating: 7 out of 10

Actual Rating:
 

THE SEVENTEENTH KIND (Short Film)

The Seventeenth Kind is a film version of a short story by Michael Marshall Smith: the winner of the Philip K. Dick Award, the August Derleth Award, the International Horror Guild Award, six British Fantasy Awards and the Prix Bob Morane, nominated for five World Fantasy Awards and CWA Silver Dagger — and the only author ever to win the BFS Award for Best Short Story four times.

The story involves actor James who believing his own good press as a TV pitch man on a late night cable channel descends into drugs and laziness on the set. Disappointed by his lack of interest, James is approached by the station manager who wants to replace him with his girlfriend and James’ current demonstrator Melissa. When the day’s product spokesman Rusty arrives, things take an unexpected turn and provides James with a new venue to showcase his presenting skills that is out of this world.

This sci-fi film adaptation is ably directed by Andy Collier and stars a wealth of well-known faces, including Tony Curran (The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, 24), Sylvester McCoy (Doctor Who, The Hobbit), model Lucy Pinder, as well as the booming voice of the legendary Brian Blessed (Flash Gordon). A highly entertaining, funny and well-crafted dark comedy doesn’t drag once during the whole thirty minutes.

THE SEVENTEENTH KIND / CERT: TBC / DIRECTOR: ANDY COLLIER / SCREENPLAY: TOOR MIAN, ANDY COLLIER / STARRING: TONY CURRAN, SYLVESTER MCCOY, RALPH BROWN, MIRIAM MARGOLYES, BRIAN BLESSED / RELEASE DATE: TBC

 

DURANT’S NEVER CLOSES

In the 1950’s, part-time gambler and aspiring baseball pitcher Jack Durant opened what would become one of the most infamous restaurants in America. With its home in Phoenix, Durant’s became renowned not only for its steaks and Martinis but also for its eclectic clientele. Movie stars such as Burt Reynolds and John Wayne lounged in the distinctive red leather booths while the noted discretion of the house allegedly allowed shadowy deals and discussions to take place between less salubrious drinkers. For the majority of people, the name Jack Durant will be unfamiliar. Sadly, after Travis Mills’ film Durant’s Never Closes that will likely remain the case

Filmed as a reminiscence rather than a standard biopic, Mills’ film focusses on several key times in the life of Durant (Sizemore) through the use of flashbacks. In doing so, Mills tries to uncover the motivations and musings of a man once dubbed by the FBI to be among the most dangerous in Phoenix, but who few really knew. A life successful in business but wasted in private is revealed superficially as characters’ flit in and out of the story, but only ex-wife Suzie (Stafford) is afforded any real depth. Scenes play out interestingly at first before drifting languorously towards a conclusion that always feels hurried, as if the camera is embarrassed to be still rolling when no-one shouted ‘cut’.

The editing and script also feel rushed and haphazard, with the timeline often difficult to follow and some sections of dialogue awkwardly forced. What holds the film together is the central performance of Sizemore, with his only support coming from the emotionally raw Stafford. At times, terrifyingly psychotic; at others almost bumbling and incompetent, Sizemore inhabits Durant with conviction and style and reminds you how accomplished an actor he can be. The exchanges with Stafford are the heart of the film and come closest to scratching beneath the surface of the characters, albeit only too briefly.

As a story of one of the most mysterious characters in American history Durant’s Never Closes never quite delivers on the promise of its subject. At worst plodding and slow, with curious tonal shifts, it is a film that feels stretched beyond the boundaries of its premise. At its occasional best, it is an eye-catching one man show; with its previous life as a play evident in some of Sizemore’s most impressive moments. More than anything it just feels like a missed opportunity, but perhaps, in the end, just too little is really known about Jack Durant.

DURANT’S NEVER CLOSES / CERT: TBC / DIRECTOR & SCREENPLAY: TRAVIS MILLS / STARRING: TOM SIZEMORE, MICHELLE STAFFORD, PETER BOGDANOVICH, JON GRIES / RELEASE DATE: JANUARY 22ND (US) TBC (UK)

Expected Rating: 6 out of 10

Actual Rating:
 

THE HATEFUL EIGHT

The eighth film from Quentin Tarantino, The Hateful Eight, as with every QT effort these days, certainly has a lot to live up to. And rightly so, for this is a man who can lay claim to being one of the very best filmmakers of his generation. Of course, though, with great hype comes great responsibility, and the big question is whether this latest Western of Tarantino’s has enough bullets to get the job done.

As The Hateful Eight opens, we’re introduced to bounty hunter John Ruth (Kurt Russell) and his most recent bounty, Daisy Domergue (Jennifer Jason Leigh). Ruth’s plan is to take his prisoner to the town of Red Rock and collect the $10,000 prize placed on her head. Picking up passengers along the way in the form of fellow bounty hunter Major Marquis Warren (Samuel L. Jackson) and Sheriff Chris Mannix (Walton Goggins), it’s not long before the snowy conditions of Wyoming cause our crew to hole up in a stagecoach stopover for a few days. Along with Ruth’s driver O.B. (James Parks), this ragtag crew then find themselves in the company of a group of strangers (Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, Bruce Dern, Demian Bichir) as all may not be quite as peaceful and serene as it appears.

The basic plot of The Hateful Eight really doesn’t do it justice, but it’s really impossible to elaborate on any further details for fear of spoilers. Safe to say, Tarantino has brought tension and atmosphere by the bucketload as a tale of twists and turns unravels before our eyes. Channeling many of the aspects that made Westerns such must-see movies decades prior, QT, as ever, pays homage whilst putting his own unique spin on things. The colours, saturation and intensity of an old classic are all present, whilst the snappy Tarantino dialogue and gruesome-when-needed violence make this a very adult Western.

Assisted by a fantastic Ennio Morricone score, the film’s cast all add to the drama and enjoyment as they take turns in being the centre of the movie’s attention. Jackson puts in his best performance in many a year, Jennifer Jason Leigh is fantastic when given the chance to be more than Kurt Russell’s punch bag, Walton Goggins steals the show at times, and every cast member, be they minor or major, bring genuine quality to this latest QT effort.

To any and all fans of Tarantino’s work, The Hateful Eight will be a wonderful slow-burn experience that showcases a true master of his craft. For those who aren’t fully on board the Quentin bandwagon, though, this film could prove a little drawn out and overindulgent. Luckily for us, we’re firmly in the former, and as such The Hateful Eight is a stunning piece of cinema that gets 2016 off with a bang.

THE HATEFUL EIGHT / CERT: 18 / DIRECTOR & SCREENPLAY: QUENTIN TARANTINO / STARRING: SAMUEL L. JACKSON, KURT RUSSELL, JENNIFER JASON LEIGH, WALTON GOGGINS, JAMES PARKS, TIM ROTH, MICHAEL MADSEN, BRUCE DERN, DEMIAN BICHIR, CHANNING TATUM / RELEASE DATE: JANUARY 8TH

Expected Rating: 8 out of 10

Actual Rating:
 

JUST ONE DRINK (Short Film)

Written and directed by Andrew de Burgh, Just One Drink is a short film where a beautiful widow (Barbara Nedeljakova) with a dark secret uses Facebook to lure two young men to her gorgeous Hollywood apartment for a New Year’s Eve party. It’s only during the course of this party that, after just one drink, secrets come out and a series of unexpected events take place. This is basically a revenge story with elements of Fatal Attraction, The Hand That Rocks the Cradle, and Knock Knock thrown in since the main female appears to be seducing the two men until her true motive is revealed over the course of their initial encounter.

The concept does sound familiar and is a well-worn conceit that has been used and regurgitated time and time again, yet here that idea is realised efficiently well if a little creaky at times. The story plays out the conventions really well and the build-up is strong enough to make the payoff worthwhile. The sequence in the torture chamber certainly recalls the good old gory days of Hostel, which is certainly more than a coincidence seeing as Nedeljakova is involved. However, there is a scene in which the two guys get stoned and that’s creaky and awkward, especially when both of them start babbling on about the possible evolution of man and the rehabilitation of criminal life. Perhaps this could’ve been replaced with a scene of the main female protagonist as a way of further establishing her character.

Cinematographer Luca Mercuri certainly adds a level of visual gloss that belies the tight budget, yet the editing is at times a little bit choppy and even though de Burgh was going for a very tight and claustrophobic feel, the camera angles are occasionally slightly awkward. The performances given by the two male leads are moderately alright if somewhat hammy, particularly the scene where they both get stoned out of their minds, but then again they are completely overshadowed by the real star of the show.

Having first made a big impact as the seductive-yet-deadly Natalya in Eli Roth’s Hostel way back in 2005, Barbara Nedeljakova ended up being somewhat poorly served by roles since that have squandered her amazing talents in films like Pimp, Strippers vs. Werewolves, Isle of Dogs, and Children of the Corn: Genesis. In the case of this, she does get a good role she can finally sink her teeth into, being able to shift from sweet and sexy one second to cold and deadly the next, which was what Barbara did to perfection back during her Hostel days. This reminds us just how amazing an actress she is, and hopefully we’ll see her in more amazing roles after this.

As far as independent short films go, this is one of the better ones out there, despite the creakiness in both the script and editing. It succeeds in putting a new spin on the revenge genre by managing to be effective and atmospheric for the most part, and getting the best out of Barbara Nedeljakova.

JUST ONE DRINK (SHORT) / CERT: TBC / DIRECTOR & SCREENPLAY: ANDREW DE BURGH / STARRING: BARBARA NEDELJAKOVA, ANDREW DE BURGH, ISAAC ANDERSON, HARWOOD GORDON / RELEASE DATE: TBC

 

IN THE HEART OF THE SEA

To put it in its simplest terms, In the Heart of the Sea is basically the story of the real-life tale that inspired Herman Melville’s legendary Moby-Dick. As Melville (Ben Whishaw) sits down with the last remaining survivor of New England’s doomed Essex vessel, we get to hear how one whaling ship’s mission was decimated by a ginormous white whale.

Almost mirroring elements of Titanic in how we find a classic yarn revisited through flashbacks and memoirs, Ron Howard’s movie is certainly an intriguing one. As our way in to the story, we see Melville trying to extract the finer details of the Essex’s demise from its last remaining surviving, Tom Nickerson (Brendan Gleeson). It’s then that we’re then taken back to 1820 and an Essex that sets sail on a mission to bring back a gargantuan amount of whale oil, essentially the fuel of its day. With a young Nickerson (Tom Holland) as part of the crew, the Captain of the vessel is George Pollard (Benjamin Walker), a man with very little prior experience but who is well-revered in the shipping industry purely down to his surname (well, in fairness, it is a pretty cool name). Whilst the crew cannot take to Pollard and his decisions are not always the wisest ones, First Mate Owen Chase (Chris Hemsworth) is a man of the people, an experienced sea dog who knows the ocean and who has the respect of many. The problem for Chase is, however, he doesn’t have the right surname in an industry that’s all about heritage. With the Essex struggling, the decision’s made to veer out to a location that apparently houses hundreds of whales but which also carries the almost mythical threat of a 100-foot white whale with slight anger issues.

Howard’s film is predictable, yet that’s not to say it’s not enjoyable. If you can get past Hemsworth’s mish-mash of an accent (part New England local, part booming Thunder God), there are plenty of impressive turns to be seen. Supporting performances from Holland, Whishaw, Gleeson, and Cillian Murphy (as Chase’s long-standing partner-in-crime) are all pitch-perfect, but the focus of the tale is really on Hemsworth’s Chase and Walker’s Pollard. Walker is fantastic as the inexperienced toff who is determined to stamp his authority on the voyage, whilst Hemsworth is nothing more than fine in his role. It feels for a few years we’ve been waiting for Hemsworth to finally step up as a leading Hollywood man, but In the Heart of the Sea sees him do well enough without really standing out.

As a spectacle, the film is stunning at times, with the visuals spectacular, but the story itself is the problem here; a predictable, one-note narrative that ultimately never really manages to truly capture your attention.

IN THE HEART OF THE SEA / CERT: 12A / DIRECTOR: RON HOWARD / SCREENPLAY: CHARLES LEAVITT / STARRING: CHRIS HEMSWORTH, BENJAMIN WALKER, CILLIAN MURPHY, TOM HOLLAND, BEN WHISHAW, BRENDAN GLEESON / RELEASE DATE: DECEMBER 26TH

Expected Rating: 7 out of 10

Actual Rating: