In the Heart of the Sea (2015)

Whilst it isn't a worthy follow up to "Rush", which I deem one of the best pictures in recent years, "In the Heart of the Sea" had many elements that remind us why we love Ron Howard's direction in his best movies so much, yet it also reminds us of his faults in his lesser films.

First off and most notably: can we please, please stop having useless narration of people remembering events of their youth in true story pictures? There is so much wrong with this technique. Firstly, it is a cheap writing idea, secondly you simply aren't invested in the emotional core of the characters telling and listening to the story, they just don't have much to do for you to get attached, thirdly it breaks the pace a little to many times, and finally it shoves down your throat the emotional beats by the narrator telling you them instead of the story having breathing space to convey the emotions and it is absolutely annoying. This is one of those things that Ron Howard unfortunately trips a lot into, yet thanks to his charming direction he frequently manages to make it light and heartfelt, unfortunately not here.

To continue on negatives: weirdly, for only the first hour or so of the film, there are constant shots that feel out of place because of poor CGI. Firstly because CGI smoke already being a terrible idea in any place, is used to overkill, yet still, I lost count of moments where the movie was cutting fast in action or not and it was absorbing, then a shot was out, another three were great and then again another CGI mess. It was stunningly strange and even more so since it lasted for the first two acts only. Which also brings me to another negative point: the last part of the second act and the first part of the third were emotionless. I really don't know what it was because performances and visuals were across the board great, but that whole part just felt off, I got bored and almost fell asleep and then as soon as the part ends I was radiant again. I really don't know what it was, it was just sterile and unengaging for a chuck.

The rest was actually quite fascinating. The first hour is totally absorbing. Talking about what Ron Howard does so good, he is a director that really understands giving you a feeling of being there with the characters and this is no different, I felt aboard on the ship with them and through the storms. He knows perfectly well what to show us to get fascinated. Moreover there are some fabulous visuals in the film and really intense action sequences that grab you by the throat and don't let go until you're exhausted. Hemsworth as always shines as the leading man and he is supported by a well chosen cast.

Coming from a true Ron Howard fanatic I must admit I was disappointed with the film, there was a lot of buzz surrounding it and I expected to get another "Rush", that is probably why I focused so much on the negatives, yet still "In the Heart of the Sea" is a good movie and definitely something positive to add to Howard's already amazing resume. Lets just say that I would like to see him tackle again this type of film with big visuals and budget because I would really like to see him excel in this type of movie.