A Good Film

Rating: 5/10 (28 December 2014)

As one reviewer put it, this is a "safe" version of the real story. A quality production by all standards and an enjoyable viewing experience, the film came up a little short on story and character development. We see a boy from a good and loving family...he has a drinking issue at a young age, but no explanation of the reason why or if he suffered any consequences for it.
We see a lot of film time devoted to the 47-day ordeal on the life raft, but only get a glimpse of how they survived that long.
In the Japanese prison camp we see them stealing rice in one brief scene, but are never shown their desperation for food.
All in all an okay movie that took a complex story but never reached the intensity levels of the book. It needed a little more "show" and a little less "tell".