Too much about the plot just didn't add up, the writing was bad, some of the scenes were cringey and awkward,

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

It is interesting even when nothing much happens, which is for most of its 3-hour running time. Read full review

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

While not wishing to detract in any way from this excellent adaptation of the C. S. Forester novels, I do have one small quibble. I think that the relationship between Hornblower and Sir Edward Pellew is slightly OTT. While the books admit to a large amount of mutual respect between the two, some of the statements made by Pellew are ludicrous. Take for example his admitting to the French General that Hornblower was 'as dear to him as his own son'. This becomes all the more improbable when one bears in mind that the real Pellew, although a compassionate captain, was by nature a gruff man and therefore unlikely to incline towards any major public show of feeling.

This is a wonderful finale to a wonderful series. It is not, in my opinion, the best of the lot, but that does not mean that it doesn't have it's strong points.I skimmed Mr. Midshipman Hornblower, the book that these four films are based on. Consequently, as someone who enjoyed this particular chapter immensely, I could have skipped the love story - but then again, I'm not a romantic by any stretch of the imagination. I thought that because of time constraints, the whole thing was rather rushed. Falling in love in the course of a day is something for a sitcom, not a serious movie, but the actors did an amazing job with what they were given.The good greatly outnumbers the bad. Ioan Gruffudd did a wonderful job as Horatio throughout the series and he remained consistent throughout this episode. I consider him to be a wonderful actor - the perfect one to play the young, gangly seventeen year-old who comes into his own gradually. Gruffudd's performance was only accentuated by the brilliance of his dynamic co-star Robert Lindsay, himself an amazing actor. Lindsay's performance as the indomitable (and indefatigable) Captain Pellew was right on the mark. The rest of the cast was wonderful, including poor Mariette, played by Estelle Skornik. I will never tire of watching Matthews, Styles and Oldroyd and Paul Copley, Sean Gilder, and Colin MacLachlan fit these roles perfectly. Jamie Bamber as Midshipman (Acting-Lieutenant) Kennedy also did very well. John Shrapnel as Charette affected a decent French accent, as did Antony Sher as the infamous Moncoutant.One last praise goes out to the fabulous Sam West, admitibly one of my favorite actors. West does an amazing job portraying Major Edrington and that dry, upper-class sarcastic wit never fails to earn a grin from me. The character of Edrington is one of my favorites in the book and West does an amazing job portraying him.I find it a horrible pity that wonderful actors such as these listed above have trouble finding roles in internationally acclaimed films. After seeing this particular film, I performed an extensive search for the above actors. Armed with a list of some of the ones I desperately wished to see, I visited all of the local movie stores. Apart from Howard's End (Sam West), Fierce Creatures (Robert Lindsay), and 102 Dalmatians (Ioan Gruffudd), I came up empty-handed. So, here I am, armed only with a taped version of the Frogs and the Lobsters.You will not be disappointed with this film - at least I doubt you will. I have yet to find someone who didn't enjoy it throughly. The costuming is accurate, the characters wonderful, the story is gripping and the acting is phenomenal. I highly recommend it to just about anyone.

The last (well, I hope not) in an extremely high-quality series following the travails of the honorable 18th-century naval officer, Horatio Hornblower. Performances and writing are exceptional, and so are the lessons that we (and Horatio) learn in this episode.

The "Horatio Hornblower" series has been a wonderful surprise. It is beautifully filmed, with enough period detail to make it seem real, while things are carefully explained to us so that it is not too obscure. We learn along with the new young officer Horatio. By the time of this, the fourth movie, he has developed confidence and values of his own, and they are sorely tested as he, a sailor, ends up in a French village contested by the Republicans and the Royalists. The performances are wonderful. I hope that there are more "Horatio's" in the works.