Whale of [some] tale

"The tragedy of the Essex is the story of men. And a Demon."

Film adaptations of real-life events are a hard sell. If the subject or story isn't interesting, no one is going to care to see. Me being one of those people, I usually don't watch these type of films due to all the details and backstory they have to cover in order to make sense of what's going on, losing my interest as well as knocking me into a bored-induced coma. To save you some confusion, In the Heart of the Sea is not based on the novel Moby Dick; it's based on the events that happened in real life that inspired the book but part of you is going to wish it was because it might have made for a better movie. In the Heart of the Sea enlightens us with the story of the crew aboard the whaling ship the Essex, and their unfortunate encounter with a massive sperm whale that left them stranded at sea and at the edge of 

their sanity as they take all means necessary to keep themselves alive as the beast continues to pursue them. At first, the film looks promising with its' amazing production values and the performances by the cast. Sadly, that feeling doesn't last long as some time after the first hour, the film looses its' steam, and its' pacing comes to a grinding halt. At some point, the film switches its' narratives from a retelling of a historic event to an allegory of man's greedy consumption of natural resources and the wrath of nature as a result. Then it turns into a survival story as the crew try to make their way back towards salvation, which sounds more interesting on paper then it does on film. Watching an episode of Deadliest Catch is more entertaining than this. Even with the guidance and direction of Ron Howard, this film sadly squanders the huge potential it had to create an otherwise amazing origin story behind the fruition of one of the greatest American literature novels in history. Much like on a fishing trip, you're better off tossing this little fish back into the water.

-Reviewed by Razor, 4/25/16