Horatio Hornblower: The Fire Ship

If America only knew how good this was,it would be the highest rated Made-For-TV movie series of all time(hard to believe there are more people out there that would rather watch "The Columbo Mysteries" than Horatio Hornblower- that just goes to show the power of major network name-brand advertising.

The Hornblower movie series has been television at its finest. I have seen all 6 of the A&E Horatio Hornblower movies,"The Duchess and the Devil" is my favorite of the 6 films. However I tune in to A&E everytime they air a new Hornblower movie. So far all 6 movies have been based on the Horatio Hornblower adventure novels written by C.S. Forester(the same author who wrote African Queen). Each Movie chronicles the on-going adventures of Horatio Hornblower who is a Brittish Lt. in the Brittish Navy during the late 1790's-to early 1800's during the Napoleonic era in Europe. I sincerly believe that each one of these 6 Films has been good enough to have shown at the movie theaters,if the producers had wanted to. Unlike other Made-For-TV films,The Hornblower films do not have that Made-For-TV feeling to them,like most television movies have.

A common misconception that people who havent seen these movies have is that all 6 of these films go to gether as a mini-series- that is not true. The Hornblower movies are not a mini-series,all 6 of these films are individual movies about the same charactor- with all the same actors playing the same roles in each film(EXAMPLE:think of the James Bond films-They are not sequels, but they are all about the adventures of James Bond- that same principle applies to the Hornblower movies) I give the entire Horatio Hornblower movie series 5 out of 5 stars. Its Perfect entertainment- but you cant please everyone, so for those of you dont like epic battleship battles,historic style drama,high stakes adventure, and danger on the high seas,if you dont like stuff like that-there is always Columbo re-run for you to watch.

Quite an interesting story from the makers of 'Sharpe'. The plot, based on the novels of C.S. Forester, is well acted, especially from young Ioan (Titanic) Gruffudd. The cast, including Derby actor Robert Lindsay, is well suited. The story runs at quite a good pace and the plot keeps you on the edge till the end. Hopefully I.T.V. will make another series of this good sea faring adventure.

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.

Gruffudd continues to give a tremendous performance as the titular hero and if nothing else the coming of age story is engaging. Likewise, the script continues to feel like the novels while expanding the segments in delightful ways. But I still find the production values to be detrimental in that they feel cheap. This film is better than The Duel (Even Chance) because the direction is more sure handed. The film feels like a second go at the cinematic language of this type of story by a director who learned from making the first film.

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