2010: Moby Dick

Monster thriller

The Asylum / Peacock Films

R4 DVD

There seems to be a resurgence in the old genre of monster movies. Instead of monsters from outer space we now have megamonsters from the standard range of earth animals. We have seen films on giant piranhas that can leap out of the water and explode on contact with buildings and giant sharks that eat submarines for breakfast. Giant octopus and crocodiles are discovered. Now in this story, VERY loosely based on Herman Melville’s classic novel, we have a giant whale over 300 feet long.

The story has been brought up to date by having the whale discovered in the Arctic by a U.S. submarine. The whale eats the sub, naturally, and there are only two survivors. Years later one, Ahab, is now captain of a new atomic sub and the other survivor is one of his officers. Ahab is becoming obsessed with hunting down and killing the whale. Now he has the tool to do it with. The sub takes on board (“kidnaps” could be a better word) Dr Michelle Herman and her assistant. She is an expert on whales and their talk and habits. She doesn’t play a significant role in the film but does provide more eye candy than a bunch of sailors. They go whale hunting.

The whale meanwhile goes ship hunting. Ship after ship goes down and so does a naval helicopter. The whale eats another submarine that attacks it. Nobody believes in the giant whale. Official opinion is that Ahab has gone mad and is destroying the ships himself. There are no survivors so far to prove them wrong. As Ahab becomes more obsessed he chases the whale into an atoll lagoon where the final showdown will take place.

Despite the silly story, the bad CGI and the indifferent acting it is still a fun film to watch. Sure, it is quite unbelievable but so are all the other monster movies ever made. Enjoy it.

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