Ghostboat

I just finished watching this ITV production, and all I can say is that I liked what I saw, but will note that there was room for much improvement.

How so? Well, for one, the main vessel around which the movie focuses was a World War 2 British diesel submarine. Big deal, you say, ah, but one of the major story points is that the sub seems to operate like a modern nuclear sub, or one of the modern Nordic or Germanic subs which are quieter than either the US, UK or Soviet subs. Simply put WW2 subs stayed on the surface, and only went underwater when needed, but you'd never know that by watching this movie.

The other thing is that there's a little bit of creep factor in this film, but it's not accentuated enough. We understand what's happening to the crew, but the made for TV production values seem to limit both SFX and other production values to really ram home the message to the audience.

I imagine the biggest mis step taken in this film is that even though the boat as a "life of its own" so to speak, a late 20th century crew, a crew that is not trained in diesel sub operations some how manages to bring this vessel out into open ocean, and operate her like a modern nuclear powered SSN.

Huh.

You know, if you can get by that, and the cinematography which is a little uninspired, then you can probably enjoy watching this film, but the story of a haunted ship and her affect on the crew takes precedence over operational details and plot points.

It's not a great film, but it is a mild diversion for a couple of hours. Give it a shot.

David Jason was magnificent in this movie. forget the press comments ( the one I read was written by an egotistical maniac - unfortunately , most critics are of the same mold). This was a very watchable movie , being in two parts , I made a point of watching the second part ( what further proof do you need , none for me - my wife watched all of it as well!) . Well chosen David , for a dramatic role , out of the tried and tested. You convinced me. I didn't want to laugh at any stage ( now that's a challenge). You will have to ditch the cockney accent though . I look forward to your next role - surprise us all , with a complete change of diction! Any way , well done. I love you. Jerome

I don't tend to watch a lot of television (preferring to stick to DVDs) so something has really got to interest me to get me to firstly remember the programme's on and secondly to actually watch.

The thing that immediately attracted me to the programme was, of course, fabulous actor David Jason. And yet again he excels himself in this wonderful thriller.

The story is based on a book also called 'Ghostboat' and is about a submarine called the Scorpion that surfaces in 1981-but which hasn't been seen since the second world war where it was presumed to have sunk. When it sank only one survivor was found, Jack Hardy (David Jason) who can't remember anything due to amnesia) When the sub resurfaces, Hardy is invited to go on a journey on the sub, with another crew and retrace the path the Scorpion took to find out what happened to it.

When they first go onto the sub to check out the damage and pull out the bodies of the dead, they find something astonishing. There are no bodies, everything is as the crew left it 40 years ago, nothing has changed.

And so the journey begins. Hardy can hear voices, things are happening in the same way they did 40 years ago-and the crew are beginning to change. As Hardy says 'The past is breaking through' The CGI effects in the film are very, very good, although not perfect, the storyline is gripping, the acting and cast are stellar.

The perfect thing for the family to gather in front of the telly to watch-10/10!

Quite a lot of CGI in this piece of ITV telly, but not to the extent that it takes away from the acting or the story. In this age where people want more and more 'instant classics', this will probably not impress some people who will see it as a predictable story with an equally predictable ending. I didn't, honestly think it was a bad effort at all. David Jason can easily take-on a role such as this and make is watchable. It lends itself to the subtle chills that the stories of M.R. James deliver, and although it may not be groundbreaking it is certainly a change from the usual stock of 'Drama' that ITV dish up (i.e. detective shows, or pseudo-reality TV.) All-in-all, it was easy viewing and has a satisfying ending. Worth a look.

A story like this will not appeal to everyone but I thought it was very original and well put together overall. A good change from the usual period dramas that come from British productions. There were some bits that could have been better with regards to acting and script but it was still entertaining. Some story points are a bit too subtle and easy to miss so might need a second viewing to fully appreciate how it all fits together. The ending was quite bold and strong which I didn't expect. The visual effects were good for a relatively low budget production and there was quite a lot of computer graphics that looked as good as from a feature film.