User Reviews

20,000 Leagues Under The Sea is one of my favorite books of all time. As a movie and book lover, I have no mercy for filmmakers who take too much liberty when adapting wildly known works. Even though it is not an adaptation per se, since here we only focus on Captain Nemo, the character himself is the main interest of the original story. Therefore screwing this up would be the same as screwing up Jules Verne's masterpiece.

And after watching the whole series, I'll put it with simple words:

It is BLASPHEMOUS as an adaptation but ENJOYABLE as entertainment material.

Captain Nemo's backstory as a fallen indian wealthy Prince is accurate but...that's it. Really. Apart from that, everything else is pure invention like how he built the Nautilius or how he assembled his crew. There are no women in his original crew but in modern society that would not slide, so they had to include that one typical smart independant woman to serve as a love interest and as a sort of challenger for Nemo's genius. Surprisingly, as much as I hate the modern feminism agenda in modern filmmaking, I realy liked the main female character. Instead of being that arrogant I-know-everything-more-than-anyone-else type that we all hate, they pulled off a character that has a nice balance betweem being feminine and intelligent. Nice job...for once.

The rest of the cast is a nice heterogenous mix of cultures and ethnic backgrounds, that in the context of the story does not feel forced like other films and series we see today.

The acting is descent and the cinematography could have been better if they focused more on the beauty and the wilderness of the ocean instead of the inside of the submarine. I didn't find the CGI to be as terrible as I some other viewers think. There were great and you can see that they put a lot of effort in the underwater sequences.

As a complete fanatic of the original book, I actually enjoyed it but I had to give in after the first episode and admit that it won't be a faithful backstory of our beloved Captain Nemo and his Legendary Submarine.

My advice for you is to watch it as a high-budget fan fiction and not as an actual adaptation. That way you'll get through all episodes without any high expectations and just enjoy the journey with the characters.

I haven't read the book/s so I don't know how faithful the TV series is to it.

What drags the rating down is, among other things, that the dialogue is sometimes quite stilted and convoluted.

The personal portraits are very simple and the character development too obvious and easily guessed. They are forgiven a little by the fact that it is the Victorian era when you think that it is a little like what they were then.

It is unrealistic, yes of course it is a sic fi written 150 years ago but you can do a better job of making it all believable anyway. Above all, the technical solutions, even if they would work in theory, feel rather MacGyver, and the battle scenes (there are few of them, but they exist) sometimes feel like Indiana Jones, so very unrealistic, something that worked in the 80s but feels quite passé today . Then they are constantly in trouble, it feels kind of illogical to continue such a journey if they are constantly at risk of dying, in the end you hardly care, as you are thrown straight from one danger to another without them building up the threats enough beforehand.

The Computer Generated Imagenary is not always that good and is used far too much, a lot would have worked better without using it so much. You hardly get a sense of the sea, even though it takes place under and on the sea, this could have been done so much better, perhaps by actually filming a bit under the sea, including real creatures living in the sea, etc. That's probably the saddest thing about the whole series, what you'd hoped it would really capture, but no unfortunately they don't succeed at all here. Almost everything feels studio made and then put on Computer Generated Imagenary. It might not be like that, but that's the feeling you get.

The series rarely get really tense and you have a hard time empathizing with the characters.

What still makes it worth watching is that it is interesting to see a series that takes place in a different environment, there is an element of adventure and in between it glimmers and becomes quite good.

You also get a bit of the political aspects that existed then, even if you only get glimpses of it (and they are not completely historically correct, but you still get the idea), it is interesting to see the Indian freedom root/independence movement at that time, also some other historical perspectives even if they are often too obvious.

Worth seeing the series? Yes, it is entertaining, but hardly a masterpiece.

I'm only a couple episodes in and the plot changes are questionable... Did the story need a female character? Probably... Does changing the backstory of the ship etc benefit the story? Not really... Beyond that the production is fine...kids will be quite happy with the FX and sets and won't mind some of the weak acting and derivative dialogue. The cast are ok although no-one is really standing out for me but sometimes that helps the story develop without actors 'overdoing'.

So, overall a bit cliche and unmemorable for an experienced viewer but definitely something that can be watched with kids who aren't too precious.

...clearly, because it is not just quite good, it is rather excellent!

So far a brilliant adaption to the original story from time honoured Science Fiction genius Jules Verne who, as the better SF Authors have been known to do, predicted technology (in this case submarines) well before they were a reality.

The cast is excellently chosen with the interactions and conflicts not only believable, but enthralling.

All the effects are immersive and cleverly drawn from historical realities mixed in with the fantasy derived from Vernes vision.

The story itself is character driven, with the infamous Nautilus being the biggest of these. Being drawn into the tale is fantastic fun, with the entire cast playing endearing characters from the villianous Admiral to the tormented Nemo and rest of the quirky unique crew of the Nautilus.

With Disney's latest offerings into SciFi, this comes as no surprise that an excellent Series was dropped by them. Bless AMC's cotton socks for picking it up, and I fervently hope enough people are exposed to this that they keep giving us more!

(UPDATED REVIEW: In order to reflect my change of star ratings. I still rate the first 3 episodes a solid 9/10, but it splashes down to a firm 7 until the final 30mins)

The epidemic of remakes is a stain on the formerly creative entertainment industry, but the practice I find particularly offensive is changing a title or character perspective of a popular story or franchise by creatively bankrupt hacks who think they are being clever.

Worse, they are so busy patting themselves on the back for cheating their way into an already broken industry and pretending they fooled us that they either forget or simply don't bother writing an engaging and intelligent story that remains faithful to the spirit of the source material, be it the original literary work or classic film adaptation of said work.

As with the title or premise, they also change other elements for the sake of changing them, not because they had good ideas. Creativity is dying because young people are no longer challenged to push themselves and experience the world, nor taught to think critically, especially in regards to their own brain-dead drivel.

There are hundreds of original and well written stories available in the form of novels, graphic novels, short stories, and short films that wallow in obscurity instead of being adapted for the first time, yet these illiterate people with neither academic nor practical experience in any field or discipline are the ones getting to write for the television and film industries.

What a breath of fresh air in these difficult days !

I really needed to escape in this refreshing show : adventure, humour, frienddhips, love, coloured characters, beautiful landscapes and great actors !... Yes this show is undoubtedly naive, but in a 90s movies kind of way. And this flavour of childhood does't affect at all the quality of the show.

We found ourselves boarding the legendary Nautilus with its eclectic crew, discovering the wonders the oceans have to offert, searching for treasures and vengeance...

Si if you want to live an epic journey with Nemo, Humility, Benoît, Boniface and the others... welcome on board !

This might be the worst adaptaion of Vernes' wonderful story. The production crew obviously wanted to go the farthest away possible from the original as possible, but bad writers can never dream to write anything decent, so instead we're stuck with this abomination. Dialogues are awful, actors went their most subpar acting, visuals and costumes are barely decent enough to not be laughably bad, pacing ain't pacing right.

Trying to be positive some sets are looking pretty nice.

Whoever greenlit this shows clearly has no idea about the original story, or about entertainment in general.

Not worth a damn.

Action, political intrigue, plot twists and a healthy amount of sea monster skirmishes:

These are just some of the many reason why even those unfamiliar with the works of Jules Verne will find "Nautilus" to be an engaging SciFi adventure series.

When I heard that there was going to be a TV series about Captain Nemo's backstory, I was mightily apprehensive. The main reason for this apprehension was the mere fact that Captain Nemo's past is so dark and tragic. Thankfully, the series begins after the horrific events of the 1857 rebellion and just as the Nautilus is launched. What happened to Nemo's family is shown in flashbacks which explain the events without being graphic.

When I began the show, I honestly had very low expectations. I didn't really expect to like it. To my delighted asonishment, it turned out to be one of the best film tributes to Jules Verne I've ever seen - no hyperbole.

Throughout the series, there are fight scenes, periodic depictions of people bleeding and a couple "blink-and-you'll-miss-it" innuendo jokes, so I wouldn't watch it with a small child, but I think it would be appropriate to watch with most young teenagers (13+).

I believe both well-read Jules Verne fans and those who've hardly heard the name "Captain Nemo" will enjoy the intriguing storyline, likable characters and aesthetic scenery. There are many other factors which made me fall in love with "Nautilus" as well:

-> The character of Captain Nemo has always facinated me. I was blown away by how perfectly and accurately Captain Nemo was portrayed in this series. Shazad Latif, in my opinion, is an immaculate Captain Nemo and he really brought the character to life with all his complexities. Out of all the film portrayals of Captain Nemo I've seen, I'd have to say his has been by far my favorite.

-> I'm American an my husband is Indian. He and I were both very impressed with the way in which Indian culture and history were presented. I want to see more shows like this to teach our son about his heritage.

Many of the action scenes reminded me of South Indian cinema. In one episode there is a scene where the Nautilus crew is playing cricket against some Englishmen, which may seem a little disconnected from the rest of the story, but Bollywood fans may recognize it as a delightful tribute to "Lagaan!"

->Although the story wasn't 100% accurate to the book, the writers obviously had read Verne's books and knew the nuances of Nemo's story and background quite throughly.

There were certain details which made me excited, such as when Nemo has an enigmatic exchange with an Englishman in which they greet each other warmly and seem to be thanking each other for...something. Nemo ends the conversation by saying, "Give my regards to Phileas!"

->In Verne's other classic, "Around the World in 80 Days," Princess Aouda is the widow of the Raj of Bundelkhand. Since Jules Verne often dropped little hints that his books existed in the same universe, I always wondered if Aouda and Nemo were distantly related, since Bundelkhand is Nemo's kingdom of origin.

A question is posed: in this conversation, was Nemo thanking the Foggs for saving someone he cared about? This is the first time I've ever seen anyone address the detail that Aouda and Nemo might be relatives.

->I noticed several shots which were obvious tributes to the first-edition illustrations of Jules Verne's classics, such as Captain Nemo standing on the submarine deck with his spyglass, and the map of Lincoln Island on a cave wall. Those details absolutely thrilled me!

->Everything about this show absolutely floored me. It was everything I could have hoped for in a Captain Nemo TV series...and then it ended.

Such a well-done series ending with fairly significant loose ends felt like a punch in the gut more forceful than the maelstrom itself. I've been trying not to let it overshadow the rest of the show. I wish with all my heart that there could be a season two!

I am still watching it, only on episode 4 right now(I'm actually writing this review as I am watching it, not often I feel the need to write a review about a programme I viewed), but must say it is very engaging, entertaining, and full of thrills, well so far anyway.

I can get through the diversity, and change and deviation of the original story , just suspend your disbelief and enjoy it for what it is, a bit of escapist fun, that's what we all want isn't it?

At least it is not full of lgbt none see, like most new shows, just an old school action packed adventure yarn, children and adult alike could sit down and enjoy it.

It was a mediocre tv show but if you had time and nothing to do, it was watchable to spend some time , till episode 4. There is missing timeline which could be covered with at least 2 episodes. The series was hardly watchable due to bad characters and they are cutting episodes to limit the show to 10 episodes with 45 minutes. Are these producers (or whoever arranging these episodes) really this brainless? How they expect people continue watching garbage like this ! Even if you have sometime and have nothing to do, do not waste it with this garbage of a TV dump, I can not call it a TV show, just walk in your house which would be more enjoying.

The point is not how far this is from the Verne's original, the point is that it is an empty production shell of zero value. Everything is so predictable. Although I could keep watching only for about 15 minutes of the first episode, it was obvious that this story would get absolutely nowhere. What a pity wasting all that production money on a garbage product. As another commenter said - it could have been spent on adopting another book into a movie/series instead of abusing the name of a famous literary work to pull in viewers. But, it appears that this is a general malaise of this whole industry - knock up something quick and dirty and steal the name of a famous high-quality masterpiece to plaster on it.

The original deserves an apology, because this "updated" series is really bad, so bad that it is very laughable and painful to get through.

Unfortunately I have to write more words for this terrible series, I think this is the worst series of 2024 and that is saying a lot. The industry deserves better then this, the actors, crew and others deserve an apology.

The dialogue is clunky, the story does not live up to the original and it's downright sad, it's the definition of mediocre and actors trying way too hard to act and talk the script.

This should've stayed in the vault. This was embarrassingly bad.

I recently binged the first season of Nautilus and the Adventures of Captain Nemo and was pleasantly surprised.

While the show certainly has a nostalgic, cheesy charm, it's a delightful throwback to classic sci-fi shows like; Quantum Leap, Stargate franchise, Sea Quest. The visuals are stunning, capturing the underwater world with a sense of wonder and mystery.

The series' exploration of different underwater life and locations is a interesting change of pace. The Nautilus takes the audience on a thrilling journey. The show's potential for storytelling is limitless, and I hope to see many seasons to come.

While I'm disappointed that Disney passed on this series, I hope it finds a deserving home. Nautilus is a hidden gem that deserves a wider audience.

Nautilus and the adventures of Captain Nemo.

Middling production values, poor writing, poor direction, middling acting talent all around. Its hard to believe that Disney spent so much money and time developing this and it turned out to be this bad.

If you are familiar with the book, or even the original Disney movie, you wont find any of that enjoyablity here. This is a mediocre mess from start to finish. Which Disney also felt as well seeing as they refused to release it on their streaming service and instead farmed it out to AMC.

I'm not sure what's going on in film school nowadays. The seem to be covering all the bases with accounting, special effects, production management. But there doesn't seem to be any art anymore. Nothing pops out from the rest, its all just mediocre.