In The Heart Of The Sea – Blu-Ray/DVD Combo Pack Review

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment

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By. Johna Autencio

Director Ron Howard’s latest film, In The Heart Of The Sea, can now be in the heart of your home – your movie collection, when you purchase it today in stores on Blu-Ray/DVD combo pack. The combo pack features plenty of behind-the-scenes footage, interviews with the cast and crew, deleted and extended scenes, and the story of Owen Chase and Captain George Pollard, the two men who inspired novelist Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick or The Whale.

The film stars Chris Hemsworth (Thor, The Avengers) as the passionate seaman Owen Chase, who strives to be the captain on his next sailing trip. But when he is demoted to first mate next to the ship’s Captain George Pollard, played by Benjamin Walker (Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter); the rivalry between man born to be at sea and man born into the business of the sea takes its toll on what should’ve been strictly focused on hunting for whale oil.

Based on the book In The Heart Of The Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex by Nathaniel Philbrick, the film is brought to life as one of the former seamen who survived, recalls the turn of events 30 years later to novelist Melville, played by Ben Whishaw (Skyfall).

In the beginning of their voyage, the ship’s crew has successfully managed to gather half of their expected whale oil, but once they go further south of border, they must abandon ship after a large mammoth sized whale attacks them, leaving them stranded at sea. Together, they brave storms, starvation, panic and despair, but others are not as lucky. This allows the captain and his first mate, to search for help and to keep the remaining crew alive, while he continues to seek the great white whale in an effort to bring it down.

Although the film was portrayed beautifully on screen with its special effects, the performances were a hit or miss. Once again, Hemsworth plays the overly confident protagonist, who butts heads with practically every other character because his passion is mistaken for cockiness.  Meanwhile, Walker’s character seemingly had no idea what he was doing and would step into his role of a leader by risking the lives of his crew, as a test. Perhaps the best and most memorable character in the film was the whale, who almost had a human sense of vengeance and was ready to fight against anyone and anything that would try to get in its way.

Needless to say, In The Heart Of The Sea is another survival story that inspired one of the greatest fictional stories of all time.