Highly Overrated But Still Good

Excellent adaptation.

A brilliant film that helped define a genre

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

I award this movie only nine stars because nothing man-made, including this review, has been proved to be perfect so far. But "Admiral" is as close to perfection as it gets. Frank Lammers, cast as Michiel de Ruyter, is up to this challenging role. He leads the fleet of the Dutch Republic, a confederation of seven often quarreling provinces or states, against the powerful fleet of the British empire. He is an inspiring commander and a doting husband and father. He is a military tactician of the first order and a soldier's soldier. The lovely Sanne Langelar, cast as his wife and as the mother of his three children, has just as much integrity and valor as he does. When in the middle of the night a multitudinous, violent mob bent on destruction swarms around the home where she lives with her children, she confronts them alone, wearing no greater protection than a nightgown. The supporting cast is outstanding and works well together to bring alive a dynamic period of Dutch history. The Republic's success in naval warfare didn't discourage her opponents, who combined against her. This turning of events is the tragic background for the convincing performance of Barry Atsma, cast as Johan de Witt, the "Grand Pensioner" of the Republic. He poignantly portrays the transient nature of success and its dangers. Under his stewardship, the Republic scored victories against the British crown. While he earned a measure of satisfaction, those victories bred factionalism and resentment at home. As de Witt, Atsma journeys from consummate optimism to soul-crushing self doubt. His loathsome end tinged with the stench of betrayal comes when the frontiers of the Republic buckle under the combined assault of her massed enemies. Lieke Van Lexmond is sumptuously seductive and wholesome in the role of his wife, Wendela. Egbert Jan Weeber, cast as Willem III, proves himself up to the demands of his "anti- hero" role, which requires him to be principled, conniving, and remorseful at different points. Charles Dance portrays British monarch Charles II as the avatar or British power, supremely disdainful towards anyone opposed to his designs, proving that he enjoyed a degree of impunity that de Witt, who was one defeat removed from being lynched, sorely lacked. Discussing the work of all the others who made the film possible would add excessive length to this review, whose point is pretty straightforward: go watch the movie!I'm sure that the true story of how a small nation like Holland survived and prospered in Europe is rich, complex, and full of lessons. "The Admiral" is a superb introduction to this subject.

This film has a structure problem. It is not that the story is completely incoherent, but there were a number of moments when I and my partner asked ourselves, "Wait, why did that happen?" And we know a little bit of Dutch history. I can imagine that for a person who does not, certain events will be even more confusing. The film keeps switching from one thing to another and starts to lose the viewer. Even when it does try to explain things, like a plan for an upcoming battle, it does not do a very good job.During the action scenes, the camera work adds to this problem. It seems the makers really wanted to show off the explosions and the pretty ships, so you see a lot of those kinds of shots, but those shots do not explain the details of what is actually happening. War stuff is happening. There you go. Separate from the storytelling, the visuals and the music are good. There are a few cool high-altitude CG shots mixed with real ships, and if you are a fan old ships, this is movie is a must-see. The soundtrack has that epic over-the-top Hans Zimmer feel to it, and during a number of prolonged scenes that have no dialogue, the film starts looking more like a music video. Unfortunately, the good music and visuals just underline the mediocrity of the storytelling. It often doesn't feel like the scene in question has earned to give itself an epic soundtrack.There is a similar problem with the acting. The acting itself is good but sometimes does not fit with the story. A character will start crying about the death of another character, but the movie had not sufficiently established the close friendship between those two characters and so the reaction feels strange. Again, a structure problem.It is commendable that the movie's budget is a mere 8 million. The same movie done in the US would have cost at least 100 mil, with 20 paid to Russell Crowe alone (that's a Master and Commander reference, everyone). It is unfortunate that the film will probably not earn a sufficient profit. Michiel De Ruyter is a patriotic Dutch film that portrays the English as dumb**ses. It is centered on Dutch characters, as the name of the movie suggests, and seems to not have much of an international appeal.This is one of those movies that makes me wish that IMDb had a 6.5 option for scoring. It is alright, but needed to have a more ironed story structure.

As an American, I'm not intimately familiar with Dutch history. And that's a shame, because our concept of individual freedom is a direct descendant of the Republic's.I had heard of De Ruyter, but this film really opened my eyes. I know it's not strictly historically accurate (no film ever is), but it inspired me to read more on Dutch history, and more about this brilliant tactician in particular.On a different tack, I appreciated this film's superior accuracy in depicting war in the Age of Sail. I've seen too many Hollywood movies with mysterious "exploding solid iron cannonballs." "Admiral" accurately shows that the greatest danger to life & limb came from the huge oak splinters that flew in every direction when a cannonball crashed through a wooden wall.If you enjoy historical films, and nautical adventure in particular, see this one!

Great story and how loyalty is horrifying.In all aspect perfect movie. Story, actors, acting, horror the pictures, dress, the setting.1. The strugle with England and the king there is great. It is in short a bit Games of Thrones. 2. Great story about Michiel de Ruyter and Johan de Wit. The horrorfying scenes how a crowed takes a man apart is shocking bit it gives an idea how things went. Maybe there will be a TV show with these fellows or a spin-off 3, because there is a lot to tell about Johan de Wit and the development of the Netherlands. Although not really highlighted the movie occurs in the V.O.C. and slavery setting. It was in the original scenes but removed before release. The dutch were very successful in international trading in that age and also busy with slave trading. Very curious about this material. 4. Great music supporting the battle and other emotional scenes, great soundtrack. 5. If you like Black Sail then you will like this movie too. Who knows this could be the opportunity to make a great international TV show about VOC, how the church had influence, development of slave workers and development of kingdoms.