Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

Factual errors abound in this sea tale about which the English should know better.A southbound ship "canting to the right" in a westerly? That is the windward side (the ship would "cant" to the lee). This exemplifies the lack of detail attended-to by the producers and director. Narrowly escaping a lee shore in the nick of time? Not with the visuals with which we were provided. The "false keel" coming away from the ship?Navigation so poor that the ship is so far south that it entirely evades the notoriously dangerous South American cape? A singer asking for and receiving a musical cue of a fifth instead of a tonic?There is plenty more in this "romantic" bildungsroman to yank the nautically and musically astute out of their suspension of disbelief.Moreover, the entire second episode or "nite" (out of three) is a goofy soap opera. The last five minutes make me wish that they had all found their end on the lee shore ice. Yecchhh! I wonder how closely it followed the Golding novel upon which it is supposedly based? C.S. Forrester and Patrick O'Brian are U.K. writers who DID get the nauticals right to the nth detail.However, it wasn't a total loss. Victoria Hamilton's tears are just as effective here as they were in Ian Holm's King Lear in which she was a formidable and heart-rending Cordelia. Hers is one of the strongest characterisations in this film. Jared Harris was a splendid Captain Anderson, and Benedict Cumberbatch acquitted himself well in the role of the "main character."Half-heartedly recommended.

Am I the only one to notice that the "realism" of the 19th century ship is erroneous. Actually it's a 15th century, right around 1620 if memory serves me, because the "realistic" ship in the movie is the Mayflower, now as far as I know the Mayflower NEVER went to Australia or even attempted a voyage to Australia. I don't know who handled R&D for this film, but using the Mayflower and hoping that no one will notice is a poor job indeed.They even printed it on the cover art and the DVD. I wonder how may other people noticed this little blunder? Not to mention that the movie itself was just plain awful, I would have expected better from Sam Neill.

I was swept into this series just as surely as the sea would sweep me into its grip. Although it started out slowly, I found that the realism in depicting the ship, the variety of characters and lively dialogue keep me watching. The protagonist was destined to be challenged, grow and change on this voyage and I wanted to be there for it. I was not disappointed. The series took you from humor to tragedy and everything in-between, often in the same scene, the same breath. There was a wealth of emotional overlaying, interaction and expression--relentless and compelling to observe. The movement of the ship added an almost fanciful component to the many scenes, making the characters ill one moment and adding humor the next.Edmund Talbot is a complex character, the likes of which we don't see often. We may know where the captain stands or Mr. Prettiman, but they are older men, set in their ways. Talbot was young and arrogant, still learning, testing himself and being tested. He struggled getting along with others and made mistakes like a real person would but had a heart that could be touched, that grew with each hard-taught experience. I appreciate the excellent characterization; it's too rare in movies and television.

This drama gives one a great feeling for early 19th century sailing ships, and shipboard life which was very harsh especially for seamen and the immigrant passengers enroute to Australia. What was surprising to me was the relative comfort of the "upperclass" passengers and the enormous social rift between them and the common seamen and immigrants. Talk about class consciousness, but I guess that was commonplace in that era. Mr. Talbot puzzled me. At times he seemed so worldly, (ie his quick seduction of a married passenger) and his boyish and sudden infatuation with Marion. There was little consistency in his personality. He could be feckless, commanding, arrogant, and sensitive. As a consequence I really could not relate to him or care much about him. Give me the Captain anytime; you knew where you stood with him. Perhaps it's my American ear but I had a lot of difficulty understanding the seamen and the other "common" folks. The photography, the sets, and the dialogue that was comprehensible were first rate and enabled me to give the film a 7. Mr. Talbot (the character, not the actor) rates a 3!