'In The Heart Of The Sea' Review: Chris Hemsworth Anchors A Whale Of A Tale
Ron Howard's In the Heart of the Sea is an engaging and thoughtful big screen adventure with gorgeous visuals and solid acting.
The Box Office:
In the Heart of the Sea opened last weekend in 38 international markets where it earned an okay $18.5 million. It opens Thursday night in America where it faces off against the wide expansion of Legend, the semi-wide expansions of a number of potential Golden Globe nominees (Carol for sure), and a sea of populist Oscar contenders that are sucking up adult moviegoers (Spotlight, Brooklyn, Bridge of Spies, etc.). On the plus side, Ron Howard's visually dazzling old-school adventure story cost "just" $100 million for Village Roadshow and Imagine Entertainment to produce, so it doesn't have to break records to break even. Of course, I would argue that this is the kind of movie that could have been a big fish in a smaller pond outside of the year-end/Oscar season stampede, but you've heard that song before.
I like the film, I like Ron Howard, and I like the idea of an old-school star vehicle that isn't franchise-based. But the film faces an uphill battle, specifically in terms of keeping the prime auditoriums that best show off its visual glories. The media has been all-Star Wars, all the time for the last few weeks, with only would-be Oscar contenders being given the time of day otherwise. In the Heart of the Sea is neither a franchise play nor an Oscar contender, although it's possible Warner Bros./Time Warner Inc. delayed this picture nearly a year (from March 11, 2015) because they thought it might be.
