Not just as an adaptation(the absolute worst adaptation to do with Herman Mellville's masterpiece) but on its own terms. The basic story is there, but the way it is structured and executed is horrible. The pace is constantly uneven being pedestrian one minute and rushed the next, several scenes such as the ending never ring true and the film is completely devoid of suspense and tension.
To make things worse, the dialogue is deplorable. Instead of the intelligent, complex and thoughtful prose of the book, it is cheesy, contrived and forced, in short the complete opposite of what it should have been. Then again, it is an Asylum production, I should have known better, I have yet to see a film of theirs that I would deem better than average. The direction is also a major part of the problem, there are times where it feels that Moby Dick doesn't have any direction.
The less said about the production values the better. The sets, costumes and submarine(yes this film updates the story) interiors are unimaginative and the effects are distractingly bad, even on Moby Dick who is laughable in alternative to menacing. The acting is poor, Barry Bostwick and Renee O'Connor are decent actors but the terrible dialogue, amateurish direction and badly written and explored characters- Ahab especially never once comes close to his novelistic counterpart's complexity and demonic presence- disallows them to do anything with their roles. Nobody is talentless or bad as such, it's just that other elements of the film severely hamper them.
All in all, an abomination adaptation wise and on its own merits. 1/10 Bethany Cox
To make things worse, the dialogue is deplorable. Instead of the intelligent, complex and thoughtful prose of the book, it is cheesy, contrived and forced, in short the complete opposite of what it should have been. Then again, it is an Asylum production, I should have known better, I have yet to see a film of theirs that I would deem better than average. The direction is also a major part of the problem, there are times where it feels that Moby Dick doesn't have any direction.
The less said about the production values the better. The sets, costumes and submarine(yes this film updates the story) interiors are unimaginative and the effects are distractingly bad, even on Moby Dick who is laughable in alternative to menacing. The acting is poor, Barry Bostwick and Renee O'Connor are decent actors but the terrible dialogue, amateurish direction and badly written and explored characters- Ahab especially never once comes close to his novelistic counterpart's complexity and demonic presence- disallows them to do anything with their roles. Nobody is talentless or bad as such, it's just that other elements of the film severely hamper them.
All in all, an abomination adaptation wise and on its own merits. 1/10 Bethany Cox