Nautilus (2000)

Powerful

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

When a big new drilling station named Prometheus is set to open out in the middle of the ocean, its main developer, Basim (Eschbach) hires Jack Harris (Norton) to be its head of security. This is needed because an eco-terrorist group named Equinox is threatening violent tactics to shut it down, because they believe it's not environmentally friendly. Just as Harris is dealing with these troublemakers, they get a message from the future in the form of a Star Wars-like hologram. Captain Brin (Kriesa) and his daughter Ariel (Wolfe) are planning to travel back in time on their submarine, the Nautilus, to stop the drilling station. They believe it will start a chain of events that will lead to catastrophic destruction and basically the end of the world. The developers, along with Harris, are skeptical, but the future-people are insistent. What then follows is a battle of wills and ideologies. Who will prevail? We can give you the bottom line on this one right away: the scenes with Richard Norton are worthwhile and entertaining. The scenes he does not appear in are boring and reach sloggish proportions. We could just end the review there, but we'll provide a few more of our humble thoughts. While Nautilus is not fast-paced, and is fairly typical of the DTV dreck that cluttered up the 2000's, it actually wasn't quite as bad as we were expecting it to be. We thought is was going to be an out-and-out sub slog, and were pleasantly surprised to find out there are some other elements mixed in.For example, the opening of the movie is decent, especially the introduction to Harris, Norton's character. The movie has a few mildly interesting ideas, but sadly not enough to propel a 90 minute feature along like the cinematic sub that it is. As usual for the B-movies of this time, there are plenty of actors that look like bigger names (but aren't), such as Brin, who looks like Sam Neill. There are scenes of actors calling out coordinates, which always make for thrilling viewing, and a nice dose of environmentalist claptrap along the way. And don't forget the awkwardly-placed stock footage. But Richard Norton is charming as ever, and he singlehandedly keeps this movie from being a total flop. Take him out of the equation, and this movie would be unwatchably horrid. We do, however, give it credit for having the ORIGINAL Prometheus (2012).Another name in the cast besides Norton would have helped...Don Swayze, Robert Davi, Matthias Hues, somebody. At least in his previous movie, Surface to Air (1998), director McDonald had Michael Madsen and Chad McQueen. Here, it's just Norton. But the power of Norton keeps the movie afloat. Get it? Afloat? Meh, just don't see it. (Unless you're a really big Norton fan).For more action insanity, drop by: www.comeuppancereviews.com

I first watched Nautilus a month ago, and I must say it was OK for a film that the sci-fi channel would probably air on TV constantly. The film is basically a time-travelling film (similar to Back to the Future) that involves saving the world from a untimely destructive event using a futuristic submarine. Richard Norton was OK in terms of acting, but overall all the characters were uninteresting and completely lacking in any depth. However, I thought that the whole concept of time travel in this film was interesting, but it unfortunately fails to achieve an amazing result, and in the end the plot was boring.I did however enjoy some elements of the film. The time-travelling submarine (probably called Nautilus) was quite interesting to look at (the CGI was quite good), and it gave the film a Jules Verne / 20'000 Leagues Under The Sea element, which I quite enjoyed. Sadly, the underwater craft is only seen in the film several times, and that disappointed me greatly. Overall, Nautilus is a sci-fi film that was interesting at first, but it became dull later on. I just wished they focused more on the submarine than fighting spies or the constant chatter about rubbish...

Richard Norton proves again in "Nautilus" that he ranks among the top actors in action movies. He plays a mercenary with a sense of humor, first introduced in the corridors of a seedy South American hotel as he darts the fists and the gunfire of his adversaries. The scene is played effectively with a contemporary Indiana Jones tone, and it's a swift intro to the more expansive adventure that follows. Norton's mercenary gets hired to head security on an oceanic rig that tracks a mysterious vessel on its radar. The vessel is a time-traveling sub that returns to circa 2000 to stop a global environmental collapse and to inform the rig's well-meaning scientist (Hannes Jaenecke) about the dangers of his actions to the future. "Nautilus" is fast-paced, diverting fun, and with an enjoyable "wink" to his audience, Norton takes his fans on an a cruise that's consistently a cool ride. "Nautilus" is a must-have DVD for Sci Fi devotees and action fans.

Nautilus is, without a doubt, going to be seen in the very near future on MST3K. Definitely one of the worst movies ever made. IF you can stay awake throughout the entire movie, you will be treated to the worst acting, the worst directing, the worst cast and the worst dialogue to come out of, wherever, in a long, long time. Give yourself a treat...Go see Planet of the Apes for the tenth time, rather than waste your time and money on this dribble.