Derrick Gibbons
An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.
Josephina
Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.
Jenni Devyn
Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.
TheNorthernMonkee
SPOILERS As the Hornblower series continued with it's second episode, it continued to keep the audience attracted and kept our focus. With a plot dealing more with the negative moments of a time aboard ship, the story is not as fast and tense as the opening part, but it remains well made and entertaining none the less.As an acting Lieutenant about Captain Pellew's (Robert Lindsay) Indefatigable, Hornblower (Ioan Gruffudd) is working on his exam to become full lieutenant. Unable to find any time to himself on a confined ship however, he also has to face up to rationing and a personal hero in the form of Captain 'Dreadnought' Foster (Denis Lawson).Reintroduced to Hornblower, we are reminded once more of Ioan Gruffudd's superb acting skills. Stressed and unable to focus, Gruffudd's Hornblower is brilliantly shown to be advancing in age and experience throughout.Aided by recurring regulars Lindsay, Paul Copley and Sean Gilder, Gruffudd is aided this time by a well played performance by Denis Lawson as the arrogant and 'gung-ho' Foster. It's no wonder with casting and performances like this that the series has become such a success.Compared with it's previous episode however, this second outing for Gruffudd's Hornblower suffers from the simple fact that the plot is not quite as lively. Whilst brilliantly portraying scurvy and the problems with a ship short on food and with an unhappy crew, it does lack a lot of the excitement possessed by the first encounter. This is not a bad thing since variety and the covering of a wider world is always good, but with the exception of an explosive conclusion, it does feel lacking at times.All in all, it's difficult to fault any episode of this majestic series. Interesting and addictive from the word go, this series has given joy to countless numbers. In this second episode, we are again given brilliant acting and gritty realism. It's distinctively slower than it's predecessor though. Still, even a slow Hornblower episode is a million times better than most television dramas. Watch and love.
TexasRedge
If America only knew how good this was,it would be the highest rated Made-For-TV movie series of all time(hard to believe there are more people out there that would rather watch "The Columbo Mysteries" than Horatio Hornblower- that just goes to show the power of major network name-brand advertising.The Hornblower movie series has been television at its finest. I have seen all 6 of the A&E Horatio Hornblower movies,"The Duchess and the Devil" is my favorite of the 6 films. However I tune in to A&E everytime they air a new Hornblower movie. So far all 6 movies have been based on the Horatio Hornblower adventure novels written by C.S. Forester(the same author who wrote African Queen). Each Movie chronicles the on-going adventures of Horatio Hornblower who is a Brittish Lt. in the Brittish Navy during the late 1790's-to early 1800's during the Napoleonic era in Europe. I sincerly believe that each one of these 6 Films has been good enough to have shown at the movie theaters,if the producers had wanted to. Unlike other Made-For-TV films,The Hornblower films do not have that Made-For-TV feeling to them,like most television movies have.A common misconception that people who havent seen these movies have is that all 6 of these films go to gether as a mini-series- that is not true. The Hornblower movies are not a mini-series,all 6 of these films are individual movies about the same charactor- with all the same actors playing the same roles in each film(EXAMPLE:think of the James Bond films-They are not sequels, but they are all about the adventures of James Bond- that same principle applies to the Hornblower movies) I give the entire Horatio Hornblower movie series 5 out of 5 stars. Its Perfect entertainment- but you cant please everyone, so for those of you dont like epic battleship battles,historic style drama,high stakes adventure, and danger on the high seas,if you dont like stuff like that-there is always Columbo re-run for you to watch.
annalisa-2
Although I am not anything like a history-buff, I must say that I loved watching Hornblower. Andrew Grieve did an amazing job. He turned, together with the writer, of course, C.S Forester's book into a completely understandable, exiting adventure. Ioan Gruffudd did a fantastic job playing Horatio Hornblower, but let's not forget the other cast members: Robert Lindsay, Sean Gilder, Colin MacLachlan and all the others were outstanding too. Together they made a wonderful story, which, although it happened about 300 years ago, is still incredibly up to date.
salty-9
Since the series of Hornblower began, I have waited quite anxiously for the next episode. The cast is excellent, the plot well thought out, and the battle scenes terrific. Ioan Grufford is excellent as the young Horatio Hornblower, and it's good to see a Derby actor such as Robert Lindsay back in a major role. Definitely worth watching this episode as it is one of the best for drama and action.
