Hornblower: The Examination for Lieutenant

Although I am not anything like a history-buff, I must say that I loved watching Hornblower. Andrew Grieve did an amazing job. He turned, together with the writer, of course, C.S Forester's book into a completely understandable, exiting adventure. Ioan Gruffudd did a fantastic job playing Horatio Hornblower, but let's not forget the other cast members: Robert Lindsay, Sean Gilder, Colin MacLachlan and all the others were outstanding too. Together they made a wonderful story, which, although it happened about 300 years ago, is still incredibly up to date.

Horatio(portrayed well by Gruffudd, imbuing him with a strong sense of justice, and a smart, outside-of-the-box approach) will be taking the examination for lieutenant. Before that, however, he and the rest of the crew of the Indefatigable suffer under halved rations - the Spanish cease their neutrality in the British/French war, and supply ships are a favored target. When a situation already on the edge of survival sees its few resources disappearing, how will the men cope?

The many dangers and risks of sea-faring continue to be explored, both those that come from the outside and the ones from the inside(not everyone can handle less food). All of the acting and character-writing is compelling, rendering everyone a human being, no one is a mere "type". This is impressive for how many are in the cast - of course not everyone gets equal time for development, but no one is presented as a caricature.

The filming and editing is superb - perspective is used well and the level of detail, the way everything has both a setup and a payoff is impressive. This is highly realistic. It doesn't shy away from the nasty stuff. The themes are strong: human relationships, respect, inner strength, etc.

There is disturbing, bloody, and brutally violent content in this. I recommend this to any fan of drama. 8/10

Only three words to comment an excellent film, a wonderful realization, and a very nice DVD registration. Will you make a spanish subtitles edition? I'm sure it will be a success in Latin America and Mexico. Congratulations!

Having seen the first in the series of 4 movies, I was quite eager to see the next installment of the saga! Well, I have to admit that I was disappointed after seeing it! Disappointed not in the overall production value of the movie, because that was as terrific as the first movie, but in the story department! The story was very flat with almost no tension! In the first movie you had conflicts on several levels like the way of life on the ship, the arguments between the crew, the looming of war...and finally the hate until death between Hornblower and a crew member! In this movie you had almost the exact story items i.c. Hornblower rescues, Hornblower being lucky, Hornblower being alone with a little crew on a boat/ship...even the end of the movie where the captain thanks Hornblower is the same! Conclusion: beautiful movie with a flat story! Hopefully the next movie will have a different structure!

Since the series of Hornblower began, I have waited quite anxiously for the next episode. The cast is excellent, the plot well thought out, and the battle scenes terrific. Ioan Grufford is excellent as the young Horatio Hornblower, and it's good to see a Derby actor such as Robert Lindsay back in a major role. Definitely worth watching this episode as it is one of the best for drama and action.