Writer: Eric Forsberg (Screenplay) Jules Verne (Novel)
Starring: Lorenzo Lamas, Sean Lawlor, Natalie Stone, Kim Little, Victor J Springer, Emilio Roso
Plot: Captain Nemo goes even deeper into insanity in this mesmerizing fantasy tale. Once again at the helm of his fearsome, wildly advanced vessel, the nautical madman endeavors to turn the world above the waves upside down.
Tagline – A New World Deep Below the Ocean … Has Declared War on Ours.
Runtime: 1 Hour 26 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Verdict: Bland
Story: 30,000 Leagues Under the Sea starts when a US Submarine becomes trapped in the Mariana Trent, Lt Michael Arronax (Lamas) and his crew are recruited to use their technology to rescue them, joined by LT Commander Lucille Conciel (Stone) they head off in the rescue attempt.
When Michael vessel clashes with Captain Nemo (Lawlor) the two do clash about rescue, wanting to be in control and his city like vessel is ready for anything Michael tries to throw at him, to stop the madman before he steals all his ideas.
Thoughts on 30,000 Leagues Under the Sea
Characters – Lt Michael Arronax has been working on a prototype that breath under water, which sees him recruited for a daring deep water rescue, he is reluctant to work with his ex-wife, though he does find himself facing up against a naval madman in Captain Nemo, he does believe in saving lives over equipment. Captain Nemo is the naval madman that has plans for the bottom of the ocean, he is willing to go to war with anybody or nation that tries to stop him. LT Commander Lucille Conciel is the ex-wife of Michael, she has been assigned for the mission by the military which gives Michael somebody to bicker with on the mission.
Performances – The performances in this film are not very impressive, they just seem to have no chemistry between them which only makes them working together feeling unlikely with the actors seeming to just deliver their lines without anything behind them.
Story – The story here follows Arronax on a rescue mission where he finds and clashes with Captain Nemo who has big plans for the world above the water. This is a modernisation of the classic novel, without any of the guts and morale dilemmas required to make the story interesting. It does seem to just be a clash between the two, without anything behind what is going on, which just seems to follow a big scheme rather than any sort of action.
Action/Sci-Fi – The action in the film is beyond basic, it is almost non-existent, the idea of the sci-fi side of the film doesn’t seem like too far from the future though which is even more surprisingly weak.
Settings – The film clearly puts us in a couple of random ships which makes it feel like we are watching an old Star Trek episode over anything else.
Special Effects – The effects are weak too, being all CGI which despite the budget never feels connected to anything going on in the film.
Scene of the Movie – The bubble machine.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – Everything.
Final Thoughts – This is a terrible version of a classic novel that just feels like lots of random scenes tied together with zero chemistry between the actors and a story that doesn’t even seem to end.
Overall: Terrible watch.
Rating