The Sea Beast

 3/4

Starring (voices): Karl Urban, Zaris-Angel Hator, Jared Harris, Marianne Jean-Baptiste

Rated PG for Action, Violence and Some Language

There are times when a critic must remind himself what his job really is: to review the movie that he has seen, not the one that he wishes he has seen.  Where the story goes is no more his call than an MCU film is for the die hard fan.  Do I wish that "The Sea Beast" had kept the forward trajectory started after the first scene rather than settle for PC cliches?  Yes.  At the same time, I must admit that the film did involve me and I did enjoy it for what it was.

In "The Sea Beast," sea monsters are real.  They're big, they're mean and they won't hesitate to fight to the death.  Captain Crow (Harris) is the leader of the Inevitable, one of the most legendary monster hunting ships.  Together with his first mate and surrogate son Jacob Holland (Urban), he is obsessed with hunting down the notorious Red Beast.  This latest trip, however, is different.  First, they're in a competition with a fatuous dimwit in the Royal Navy (an uncredited Dan Stevens) and tagging along on the ship is a young orphan named Maisie Brumble (Hator).  When Jacob and Maisie get thrown overboard and meet the Red Beast face to face, what they discover changes everything.

Like most animated movies that do not come from Studio Ghibli, "The Sea Beast" relies heavily on formulas.  In fact, describing it as a fusion of "Pirates of the Caribbean" and "How to Train Your Dragon" will give you a good idea of what to expect.  That being said, director Chris Williams fuses these two films (and others...one might incorrectly assume that its a low-rent Pixar movie) that gives it life and energy.  Sure, it usually plays it safe, but Williams isn't afraid of coloring outside the lines when he can.

Consider, for example, young Maisie.  At first she appears to be your typical Pixar heroine: smart, plucky and ironic.  But when the film pauses for her to display genuine emotion, Zaris-Angel Hator and the animators pull it off and it's earned.  Karl Urban has no trouble playing the rough and tumble hero who grows a heart, although the affection between the two feels a bit forced.  Jared Harris is virtually unrecognizable as the scenery-chewing captain.  Think Captain Barbossa mixed with the obsession of Billy Tyne (George Clooney's character in "The Perfect Storm").

The film could have used another rewrite or two.  The competition aspect is virtually ignored; cut it out and no one would miss it.  Likewise, there's an unresolved plot hole involving the captain and a evil merchant (Kathy Burke) that doesn't go anywhere.  I also found the ending unsatisfactory.  I could understand that Williams wanted to avoid a traditional, violent climax, but trying is different than succeeding.

"The Sea Beast" isn't a great movie, but it's light and fun and contains some truly sensational scenes of action and derring do that are the heart of all the great swashbucklers.  The first one, which runs for at least five minutes, is simply incredible.  It makes you wish you could see it on the big screen.  It's that good.

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