Keep in mind I was extremely tired and distracted when I "watched" this movie. I didn't pick up everything, so my views on this film as of yet will struggle to be objective. I may get details terribly incorrect, perhaps to a hilarious degree. So this review comes prescribed with a huge grain of salt.

There was definitely a lot that I missed, but from what I could actively discern, this was pretty fantastic. A gripping character drama at sea with well-founded, in-character, and rational decision making. One thing I didn't get is why the Captain put the youngest, the children, aboard the ship in charge of their respective companies. Doesn't seem like the most rational decision to make when it was done for the purpose of capturing a French ship much more well-gunned and manned as their own. But they win the battle anyway. There's quite possibly something I missed to indicate that these young boys could have been taught how to be proficient in decision-making and leadership in these combat scenarios, because they absolutely seem proficient beyond their years. Actually they behave like fully grown and experienced men in the face of bloodshed and explosions. For which I'll be hunting for significant justification upon a potential rewatch. 

I absolutely loved that battle scene, however. The French put up quite the fight; they feint their enemies the moment they attempt to board, pretending to all be dead, use some great tactics overall to try to win. They come off as quite competent but are absolutely slaughtered. I wonder if there was some detail or subtext I missed that implied that their warning was a bluff and that they were depleted of men, resources, or both somehow and were simply attempting to avoid battle. I think my tiredness just made it very difficult to capture all the film was putting in front of me. But I couldn't help but to be very excited by the entire sequence. My favorite part was the part where one of the boys releases the British prisoners and they instantly, without hesitation, take up arms and rush into the thick of battle to assist their brethren. They were surely POWs from other ships or captures during the war, naval or otherwise, but they knew immediately to support their brothers in arms and had no second thoughts about doing so. In fact they were quite eager. Seeing people united is a big weak spot of mine; it almost always illicits an emotional reaction in me. I appreciate the back and forth in this section. There's a definite sense that they couldn't have done it without the planning and decision making of the captain being as good as it was. He's a brilliant tactician and a great captain, despite all the struggles they had at sea up to that point. He knew how to unite the men emotionally, to have their respect, and he knew how to help them do their jobs as effectively as possible to achieve their goal of capturing the French's ship.

Paul Bettany's character is absolutely my favorite. I love his expertise, his emotion, his principled positions, his relationship with both the captain and especially Midshipman William Blakeney. I was quite invested in the two of them and his ability to survive so he could continue to mentor William. I wish there was more I could have gotten out of it; I was tired and distracted so I missed out on quite a lot. I must rewatch this at some point.

I would describe this to the average person as, "You know Pirates of the Carribean? It's like that, but realistic. And better." At least the first Pirates was internally consistent despite its magic. I'll always appreciate the franchise for its swashbuckling adventures, but they're pretty ridiculous beyond the first. This is for if you love seafaring adventures,19th century worldbuiling, in a realistic setting with pretty stellar writing. At least so far as I can tell given my mental state in consuming it.