While somewhat slowly paced (even for me, & I tend to be a relatively patient sort [grin]), it's well worth a watch if you can get past that. The scenes with Jim in jail & Kelso with the "Lady" Chablis are absolute panics, &...
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While somewhat slowly paced (even for me, & I tend to be a relatively patient sort [grin]), it's well worth a watch if you can get past that. The scenes with Jim in jail & Kelso with the "Lady" Chablis are absolute panics, & Jack Thompson's antics in the courtroom are worth the price of admission just by themselves! To be honest, not being that much of a see-it-in-the-theater sort, I didn't realize it was Jude Law playing Billy until nearly halfway through the flick. To me, that's one of the hallmarks of a real actor. Great Flick -- that pretty much covers it for me!

One of us said it wasn't "new or special because there is nothing new in this movie." While I might conceivably agree with the latter I'd definitely have to disagree with the former, for two reasons. First, singularity doesn't require...
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One of us said it wasn't "new or special because there is nothing new in this movie." While I might conceivably agree with the latter I'd definitely have to disagree with the former, for two reasons. First, singularity doesn't require innovation. Consider "Shawshank Redemption" -- nothing new there either, but definitely a special flick due to being so well-crafted. Same in this case, IMHO. :) Second, while I'm not a big fan of the "Horatio Hornblower" era, the execution of the battle & shipboard scenes is truly outstanding. The interplay between Crowe & Bettany is good, but I was even more impressed by the scenes involving the junior officers; excellent representation of the insecurity very often experienced by inexperienced subalterns afraid both of making bad decisions & not making good ones. Definitely 5 *'s+++ IMHO, no question. :)

Crowe described is experience in making this flick as "unrelenting." I don't know if he's normally *given* to understatement, but that it certainly is. The movie is intense & well-crafted from start to finish. Connie Nielsen [+] Read Full Review

Crowe described is experience in making this flick as "unrelenting." I don't know if he's normally *given* to understatement, but that it certainly is. The movie is intense & well-crafted from start to finish. Connie Nielsen
& Richard Harris in particular give excellent supporting perfomances. WELL worth an evening in front of your big-screen!