Gogarty wrote:

Has anyone seen this movie? I did yesterday. Disappointing. No depth at
all.

Yes, like another complex effort: "Dune". Frank Herbert, the author, complained
that the movie should have been titled "Scenes from Dune".

Parhaps the most distinguishing feature of the POB books is the slow pace.
Apparently POB was a fan of Louisa May Alcott with her detail, and it is said
that one of the volumes, in which the story is entirely (?) on land, is a
tribute to her. For that reason, it would seem impossible to accomplish the
feel of the books in a movie. And, really, try to think of the movie you would
produce from the real M&C, volume 1. By the time you got the music recital
where A meets M and challenges him, to the promotion, re-meeting and dinner,
fitting the Sophie - there's an hour gone just doing that properly, and they
haven't even got underway.

The diametrical opposite of POB's books are Patrick Cornwell, "Sharp" series, in
which this incredible (literally) ubermench of a junior officer winds up
hobnobbing with Nelson and all sorts of stuff. I couldn't stand it - too MTV.

I do hope that there will be future movies and that they will serve the
population of loyal readers by developing characters and such. Nevertheless, as
a production, it certainly conveyed the confusion of a naval battle, boarding,
and such. And the image of that guy sitting on the 'seat of ease' as the camera
panned down the port side in the snow - that's going to stay with me for a long
time.