Der Admiral - Kampf um Europa

Firstly , let me start of by saying i am dutch and therefore my opinion mite be slightly biased.Secondly , although the story is of grand importance to our history and epic of scope, i was worried (mainly by the choice of director, who's previous track record includes a whole lot of terrible sequels to B movies), and the choice of dutch movie producers to almost always (like 95% of the time) go for the safe picture, that being a not too artsy or original film (mostly being comedies, romantic comedies or family films). This film looked like it was going to be another Nova Zembla, the first big scale dutch epic (not counting of course Paul verhoeven en black book, but thats different, cos its verhoeven who is more known as a Hollywood director than of dutch films) that resulted in a total yawn fest. What a terrible waste

But this one turned out to be better than expected. Tho at times the over use of Bay-isms (such as over extended slo mo shots or using the story to support the visuals and action scenes rather than the other way around ,which did make it feel like a second rate pirates of the Caribbean at times) the flow and tone of the movie worked and it was never really boring at over 2 hours. Tho from time to time the story was obviously embellished for dramatic purposes, which resulted in it again looking more like a Disney adventure movie than a true historic epic. But , with overall good performances by the entire cast( and a gorgeous soundtrack) , the movie was quite good/worked well. A pleasant surprise.

Enjoy! Evil fred

As an American, I'm not intimately familiar with Dutch history. And that's a shame, because our concept of individual freedom is a direct descendant of the Republic's.

I had heard of De Ruyter, but this film really opened my eyes. I know it's not strictly historically accurate (no film ever is), but it inspired me to read more on Dutch history, and more about this brilliant tactician in particular.

On a different tack, I appreciated this film's superior accuracy in depicting war in the Age of Sail. I've seen too many Hollywood movies with mysterious "exploding solid iron cannonballs." "Admiral" accurately shows that the greatest danger to life & limb came from the huge oak splinters that flew in every direction when a cannonball crashed through a wooden wall.

If you enjoy historical films, and nautical adventure in particular, see this one!

As for the technical side, this film is spectacular. The editing, the story, the production value as a whole is worth the time. This is one of the "epic" films that did not get it's due. So well done and a fantastic soundtrack - this is where the we lose Academy worthy people in the mix. This production was phenomenal.

As for the story, I found it a very worthy tale to tell (and surprised nobody attempted it at this level before). Due to the scope of de Ruyter's impact on this time period, the movie did move a bit quickly and (as expected) did not have time to encompass the importance and the intricate detail of the lives involved. So my only ding here is that it felt rushed in the aspects of the personal lives of Michiel and Anna. To give their emotional and political struggles justice, perhaps a mini-series would have been a more appropriate venue. You feel unsatisfied with the depth of their development. You are simply left wanting more from them.

While based on historical "fact", there are many aspects that needed further development. I wanted so much more background and detail on the characters and the political struggle that, again, a sense of rush was left and it left me sad about that.

When such an incredible production crew and and an insanely under- respected director (Roel Reiné) is given this type of budget and consulting, I feel like they were all let down by not being able to explore this topic and these characters further.

Overall, this film was absolutely spectacular! The brutal moments (for those who know) were almost too brutal to fit into the context of the rest of the story's examination. But HOLY MONKEY this film was a great breath of fresh air and and a great view inside the filmmaking from this part of the world.

A+ and huge kudos to all involved. You needed a better platform, but you made incredible value bleed from these limitations.

An emotional and thoughtful ride on a side of history that needs more exploration. Cheers to you all!

If you are a history buff, you'll get a lot out of this. If you are a film buff, you'll get even more. And if you're looking for some of the most under-appreciated talent in both screen and bts, then you've stumbled on a treasure-trove that all filmmakers should seek out.

Disturbingly well done.

There is very little to fault in this movie, I love foreign subtitled movies and this is now in my top 5.

This is an abridged version of the Anglo/Dutch wars in the 1700s, a period I know little about. It shows the obvious bully tactics of the Royal Navy being superior, but it shows that means nothing with a good commander in charge. It also shows the political ramblings that went on behind the scenes, and although the movie tries its best to not go on an all gore quest, when it needs to the film is shocking. Specifically the assassinations of the Witt brothers, the scenes are extremely gruesome and it horrifies even more that this happened in real life.

A majority of the movie in in Dutch, but the few British scenes are in English, simply to set the tone of the movie.

The acting was flawless especially Frank Lammers who plays the title role. I would highly recommend this movie to anyone.

The only reason it looses one star is because at times the flow of the film seemed a little uneven, but for the most part extremely entertaining and insightful.

This could easily be one of the best Dutch movies made so far. It is not only an amazing accomplishment because of the spectacular naval battles and special effects, but also because it manages to explain all of the historical context. And on top of that, it not only manages to tell De Ruyter's story, but also that of other important historical characters, such as Charles II, Willem III, Johan De Witt, and several others.

The movie struggles occasionally to fit all of De Ruyter's career in just one movie. And especially the first half of the movie suffers from misplaced patriotism that feels almost un-Dutch, with a lot of slow motion close ups of waving Dutch flags, and long winded speeches about freedom and liberty. It struggles with its dialog, and especially at the start it often indulges too much in spouting exposition, and in trying to remind the audience of the time period.

But those minor issues aside, this is a great film. It even takes some risks by showing Wilhelm III's blatant taste for boys over girls, and by showing the gruesome betrayal of the brothers De Witt. All of this is historically accurate, so that can't really be considered a spoiler to anyone who has bothered to read a bit of history.

The movie has a great soundtrack, and beautiful costumes, while using a lot of real locations (which have been made to look period-accurate with a little help of some CGI). At times the ships clearly look computer generated, but all of that can be forgiven because of the beautiful camera work, and an almost American-style of cinematography. This movie does not look Dutch. It looks like a Hollywood movie. And I think that makes it a lot more accessible to foreign audiences.

I recommend it.