As a fan of the O'Brian books, I was worried by the trailer I saw: almost no Maturin, an apparently pivotal moment when a young boy takes command of the ship... oh dear, I thought; maybe it will be a great film but it won't be anything like those wonderful books. Fortunately (for book fans, at least), the marketers were lying! Pretty much everything you could want from an adaptation is here, which of course explains why a lot of people don't seem to like it: it has an episodic nature, the humour is embedded in character, the attention to detail is almost obsessive, and (I think this is the crucial one), it makes little concession to readers/viewers who don't know the environment. Few "mainstream" films of recent years have chosen to assume that the audience is this knowledgable and intelligent, for which Peter Weir must be roundly applauded. You have to bring your brain in with you for this one. For any book fans with lingering doubts: The weevil joke is perfectly done; and rest assured, Killick is perfect too.
