Bloated sea story from Ron Howard based on the 1820 sinking of the whaling ship Essex, which we’re told was Herman Melville’s (Ben Whishaw) inspiration for Moby Dick.

Not a bad History Channel look at the rigors of 19th-century whaling, if that floats your boat. But Howard resorts to voiceovers and other narrative shortcuts so he can get back to the computer-generated perils, so it’s mostly spectacle over character.

It felt false, with curiously little tension or suspense. The white whale gets only about six minutes’ screen time. The rest is Chris Hemsworth standing around looking gorgeous. Japanese title: Hakugei tono Tatakai. (122 min)