Somewhere at sea, a young boy clings to flotsam while a burning ship sinks a short distance away. As he shivers on the makeshift raft, a giant sea beast swims just below the surface. The boy is Jacob Holland and he is eventually rescued by the Inevitable, the monster-hunting ship of Captain Crow.
At an orphanage, Maisie Brumble reads a book about the various adventures of the Inevitable. In the distant past, the sea beasts used to come on land, devour people, and destroy towns. Now, thanks to the monster-hunting ships, vast areas of the seas were free of monsters and none could remember the land attacks. Maisie's parents were hunters and they died at sea. Her dream is to follow in their footsteps. Well, except for the dying part. Therefore, she runs away from the orphanage.
The Inevitable is asea and chasing the Red Bluster (Moby Dick), when they spot another ship in dire straits. Jacob Holland (Karl Urban), now an adult, argues that they must aid their fellow hunters. Captain Crow (Jared Harris) reluctantly agrees. Not only do they rescue the other ship, they kill the monster that was on the brink of sinking her. Though the carcass earns a fine bounty, the monarchs are unimpressed with the recent achievements of the hunter fleet. They propose disbanding the hunters and sending the Imperator - a leviathan of a ship - to sweep monsters from the seas. Infuriated by this proposal, Captain Crow is on the brink of drawing sword against the monarchs when Jacob proposes a contest: if the Inevitable takes the Red Bluster, the hunters remain. If the Imperator, then the hunters disband.
Once at sea again, the crew discovers that Maisie Brumble has stowed away. Though Jacob wants to deposit her at the next port, Captain Crow is impressed by her pluck. "She's all vinegar." Of course, the Inevitable finds the Red Bluster and a death match ensues. Jacob and Maisie are swallowed by the Bluster and the Inevitable limps to port for repairs. Like Jonah, Geppetto, and Pinocchio, Jacob and Maisie survive being swallowed. In fact, they soon befriend the Red Bluster. This will complicate things when and if they get back to civilization.
The movie is quite entertaining but the premise needed further development. As there are plans for a sequel, perhaps the backstory will be explained. As it is, humans made up the murderousness of the monsters so that they could convince people to hunt them. But if they were generally harmless, why do you need to exterminate them? It doesn't work as explained.
Good popcorn fun.
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