What a beautiful movie!

Some things I liked some I did not.

Boring, long, and too preachy.

A brilliant film that helped define a genre

Horatio(Gruffudd, imbuing the role with a strong sense of honor and pride) begins his naval career at 17, in the year of 1793. In spite of various circumstances being against him, he does, in time, fare well with the other midshipmen(if you don't know a lot of Navy lingo, you will want to keep a dictionary on hand, and a finger on the pause-button). Then, Simpson(Healy, making for a truly reprehensible antagonist) returns, and his abusive behavior, thus far tolerated by the other low-level(none of the officers know about it) workers, leads to a feud with our titular protagonist.I haven't read the novels, but if this is anything to go by, it's no wonder they were deemed worthy of adapting. This is an excellent first chapter, and sets the scene for numerous more - I look forward to taking in the following seven. Thoroughly well-acted, filmed compellingly(though you can, at times, tell this was made for television), credible with a richness of detail(many subtle ones), all characters developed well - and with a pace that features many events and people, without rushing ahead to fit it all in. The realism is impressive - there are some elements that make it clear that this is fiction, a dramatization crafted around things that have happened, and with how gripping this is, you easily forgive that. It goes into universally human themes - respect, discipline, friendship, etc.There is a bit of brutal, bloody, disturbing and violent content in this - it is quite honest in its depiction of the many nasty, potential consequences of sea-faring, and ship-based warfare, of the time. I recommend this to any fan of drama and historical adventure. 8/10

Another commentator wrote:"First of all, a note about the American titles for this mini-series: what's wrong with you people? Can't you leave a title alone? Or do you think your crowd is so dumb, they wouldn't understand the title that the makers gave it? Why did you have to change "The Even Chance" into "The Duel", for instance (and the other titles as well)? Translating a foreign title is one thing. Altering (and totally ruining) an existing title is something else."Please do not blame Americans for making changes to movie titles alone. Many films have their titles changed for marketing reasons. Back in 1981, I was on an underground platform in London that had a poster for the American film with Sigourney Weaver and William Hurt called "Eyewitness"; but the London tile was "The Janitor". How strange! Maybe they changed it because another film at the time had the same name? Or perhaps this new name sounded more "American" to British ears.Also, about how this was not marketed well in the US, it may be due to some marketing director assuming that US audiences don't appreciate British TV very well. You must also understand that many Americans do not understand many British accents and have a hard time understanding these foreign dialects. I know from my own experience as a Canadian- American living in New Zealand that it takes a while to understand not only the accents, but also the slang words.Regardless, I am looking forward to renting this series, as it has been highly recommended by my sister (American) who LOVED every episode and wish they would show it again on American TV.

The first in the Horatio Hornblower series, this installment is absolutely stunning. After watching this, you will find yourself longing for more. There is enough action, drama, and humor to satisfy just about anyone.The acting is wonderful. Ioan Gruffudd in particular in the leading role, but all the supporting actors put out great performances as well.The costumes are flawless. That, combined with the set design and ships, make you feel as though you have gone back in time.I would recommend this miniseries to anyone I know (And I've done much of that already).

Hornblower: The Even Chance is a great entry to the four made for television movies! Its production value is outstanding starting with the original ships, costumes, cities... and ending with the very convincing battles at sea! This is one of the rare cases where CGI is very clever put to use! Ioan Gruffudd is an excellent choice as Horatio Hornblower! You believe immediately that he is the character! Gruffudd is not a typical Hollywood handsome man but a traditional beautiful European(he is Irish from origin!) lad. Watching this movie makes an exceptional evening! Highly recommended!