Rating of
1.5/4
Slow, with weak performances
The M.O.W. - wrote on 08/03/08
This is an adaptation of "Captain Bligh and Mr. Christian" by Richard Hough. It is an adaptation that made me not want to read the novel of which it is based.
The movie is filled with little action and pretty weak performances from much of the main cast. At times, however, Anthony Hopkins had some good scenes compared to other cast members.
Another problem with this movie is the writing. None of the characters are written well in this adaptation. I also found much of the dialogue real weak, which made the performances suffer.
Mel Gibson is given very little to do, and little dialogue in the first quarter of the movie. At times, he seemed bored. I also think that much of the cast appeared bored -- especially in the scenes on the ship.
The scenes on the ship was another problem. Because of its size, the cameras were limited as to how they could be set up. None of the shots on board were interesting, as the angles that scenes could be shot were limited.
One thing that was done pretty well was the cast wardrobes. They looked accurate, and, as the movie goes on, it appears that the clothing was worn for a overly long period of time. The "Tahitian" wardrobe, which wasn't a lot since there was a lot of skin (especially the women), looked like a typical islander clothing seen in other movies and were nothing special. At one point in the movie, we see a couple of "Tahitian" men wearing these tall hat-like things that are so tall, one of the men has to grab his when a gust of wind comes up.
One thing this movie lacks is action and adventure. When the mutiny finally happens, there is no sword or gun play between the mutineers and those who remain loyal to "Bligh" (Hopkins). We don't even get one battle between the "Bounty" or another ship.
The scenery was also bland. A lot of the movie takes place on the water, where there is literally nothing to look at -- except water. And with the cramped space of the boat, the scenes were limited in angles.
There was very little chemistry between the cast. They had little to work with, which diminished their interaction with one another. I felt that the mutineers needed to do something to kill the boredom, so they decided to mutiny. Even though we are shown why they mutiny, they just didn't have their heart into it if you ask me. I also felt zero chemistry between "Fletcher Christian" (Mel Gibson) and the native girl he falls in love with had no chemistry, and did nothing to make it seem that they were falling for each other. In fact, I felt like it was more a one-night-stand more than anything else.
In my opinion, this is not a movie that you should rent on DVD. If you ask me, see it on HBO or another movie cable network (I saw it on On Demand. It was in the Free Movies section) if there is nothing else on. It's just not a good movie in my opinion.
