Hornblower: Loyalty (2003)

Good movie, but best of all time? Hardly . . .

Don't listen to the negative reviews

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

Blistering performances.

Peace has broken out. Of course, it's not certain it'll last. Not every Frenchman appreciates Napoleon, however - Major Côtard(Wise, solid as a pampered nobleman) will need transport, to meet with other friendlies, in his homeland. Hornblower(Gruffudd, driven by a sense of justice, yet not always virtuous) gets command(one of his first - he was granted the honor near the end of the war; in fact, he's had trouble making rent in his time on land) of the small ship charged with the task, and he brings in Bush(McGann, strict but not without sympathy). But some things don't seem to go as expected - could there be an enemy among the sparse crew?This goes into themes of friendship, trust, discipline, and, yes, loyalty - what side one chooses, how that comes into play. It enters into the side plot, as well - our titular lead is in love with the daughter of his landlady, and the feeling is mutual. However, can he genuinely help her, and in what way? Explored again are negatives and positives of the navy, society and the like, of the period. Filming(seldom betraying that this was made for TV), editing, script, dialog, acting, humor, action, tension, all are compelling.There is some bloody, disturbing violent content in this. I recommend this to any fan of drama and swashbuckling. 8/10

Loyalty is the 8th installment in the Horatio Hornblower series and so far it's one of the best. If you enjoyed the previous Hornblower films you will surely enjoy this one. As we have come to expect from the Horatio Hornblower series the acting is great, Ioan Gruffudd as Hornblower is fantastic as usual and Robert Lindsay and Paul McGann also turn in excellent performances. The rest of the crew is back ( and fans will surely enjoy seeing Sean Gilder and Paul Copley as Styles and Mathews). The script is great and the battles on land and sea are epic and intense. The visual effects are pretty good especially in one scene that has Horatio running as everything is exploding behind him. The music is basically the same material we have heard in the other Hornblower films, but this isn't necessarily a bad thing. All in all an excellent production and a great continuation of the Hornblower saga.

SPOILERS Ever since the middle ages, Ireland has been an enormous problem for the English. In 2003's brilliant "Loyalty", the Irish play a key part in the adventures of the newly promoted Captain Horatio Hornblower (Ioan Gruffudd). The story, well written and with a superb cast, is a return to form for a series which had dipped slightly in recent episodes.The English and the French are at peace. Living on half pay, Hornblower is far from happy with the world. Staying at the lodgings of Mrs Mason (Barbara Flynn) and her daughter Maria (Julia Sawalha), Hornblower is relieved when he is sent on an important mission to France. Now, with a suspicious Frenchman on board (Greg Wise), Hornblower is under pressure from ineptitude and deception as plans start to go wrong.Ioan Gruffudd has made a lifelong name for himself as the enigmatic Hornblower. Acting magnificently he has made the part his own and thrives on it.Gruffudd is helped however by a fine supporting cast led by Robert Lindsay, Paul Copley and Sean Gilder. All three supporting actors have been in the series from the first episode, and continue to play characters that the audience has a genuine affection for.The true beauty of this episode however is it's scripting. Well converted from the books into the programme by writer Niall Leonard, the story is absorbing and entertaining from the start.On a television budget, this episode does demonstrate a distinctly lower key form of special effects. Whilst the sets and the boat are constantly well made, scenes involving multiple ships and and scenery have an intensely artificial look. One scene involving a view of a French boat from the deck in particular smacks of being filmed on a Green backdrop. Still, for all it's technical flaws, the gritty realism is enough to appease it.This seventh and second to last episode in the Hornblower series is a worthy addition to the collection and a vast improvement on the previous episode. Well written and acted, it is entertaining and imaginative and once more they have us hooked. Well worth a watch.

The opening credits note "based on the stories by C. S. Forester". In the interest of fairness, it should say "very loosely based...". I happened across this on tonight and am appalled for Forester's sake. How A&E takes a well-written intelligent drama and turns it into such stupid melodrama that has only a faintly passing relationship to the actual story is beyond my comprehension. Spielberg once said to his crew in regard to a tv-movie he was making, "This is TV folks - Tender Vittles. We have to make it simple for them." Obviously the A&E folks studied at his school of pablum. Certainly this series is entertaining on some level, but don't for a minute think you know the Hornblower story based on seeing it. Call it something else and not Hornblower if they're going to change it so radically. For me, I'm angry, as I hoped to see Forester's great stories given a good treatment.