Look, this should have been great: true story, Ron Howard directing, Chris Hemsworth, the inspiration for Moby-Dick. Instead, it's a grim, slow, forgettable slog that critics panned and audiences shrugged at.

The historical bones are interesting—the Essex really was destroyed by a whale in 1820, and the survival story is harrowing. But the film is so relentlessly bleak and poorly paced that even teens who love adventure movies will struggle. The implied cannibalism and watching men slowly die of thirst isn't exactly family movie night material.

If your teen is studying Moby-Dick or obsessed with maritime history, maybe? Otherwise, there are way better survival films (The Revenant, Cast Away) and way better historical dramas. This one's a pass unless you're very specifically interested in this exact story—and even then, lower your expectations.