In the Heart of the Sea

"Ron Howard has always been a pretty meat-and-potatoes filmmaker, but it’s remarkable how he manages to take the story of a huge murderous whale ruthlessly stalking its human prey, and make a movie as dull as In the Heart of the Sea. Rather than ramping up the pulpy thrills that are there for the taking, the film adopts a deadly serious tone throughout, as characters are put through terrible hardships, seemingly intended to wring out anguished, awards-friendly performances."

"A pedestrian retelling."

"Kudos to Ron Howard for taking a slightly different approach, even if it never quite matches the resonance of Ahab's epic quest."

"Hemsworth, botched New England accent and all, is a movie star, and this is movie star material."

"Chris Hemsworth is John Wayne on water but the whale's the thing."

"Something less than a whale of a tale."

"What the film lacks in terms of Melville's thunderous exposition of human frailty and obsession it makes up for in rollicking entertainment."