User reviews

I like it! So, I said it. And I am going to explain why I like it.

In a TV world where there is not much offered in terms of variety, it is nice to see this kind of genre coming to life. I mean, do we really need another crime/police/lawyer/doctor/fire fighting series? Is the zombie scene not fully explored? Are the Marvel, DC and Star Wars series not too much by now? Do we need another spin off of some series just because the executives think we will watch it anyway so they can make some more money with the same idea? My answer would be; NO!

Nautilus is a great adventures series and has no real connection, story wise, with the original 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea story by Jules Verne. They focus on the Nautilus and its Captain, Nemo, and his merry mix of crew and passengers. So, just relax, watch, enjoy.

20,000 Leagues Under The Sea is one of my favorite books of all time. As a movie and book lover, I have no mercy for filmmakers who take too much liberty when adapting wildly known works. Even though it is not an adaptation per se, since here we only focus on Captain Nemo, the character himself is the main interest of the original story. Therefore screwing this up would be the same as screwing up Jules Verne's masterpiece.

And after watching the whole series, I'll put it with simple words:

It is BLASPHEMOUS as an adaptation but ENJOYABLE as entertainment material.

Captain Nemo's backstory as a fallen indian wealthy Prince is accurate but...that's it. Really. Apart from that, everything else is pure invention like how he built the Nautilius or how he assembled his crew. There are no women in his original crew but in modern society that would not slide, so they had to include that one typical smart independant woman to serve as a love interest and as a sort of challenger for Nemo's genius. Surprisingly, as much as I hate the modern feminism agenda in modern filmmaking, I realy liked the main female character. Instead of being that arrogant I-know-everything-more-than-anyone-else type that we all hate, they pulled off a character that has a nice balance betweem being feminine and intelligent. Nice job...for once.

The rest of the cast is a nice heterogenous mix of cultures and ethnic backgrounds, that in the context of the story does not feel forced like other films and series we see today.

The acting is descent and the cinematography could have been better if they focused more on the beauty and the wilderness of the ocean instead of the inside of the submarine. I didn't find the CGI to be as terrible as I some other viewers think. There were great and you can see that they put a lot of effort in the underwater sequences.

As a complete fanatic of the original book, I actually enjoyed it but I had to give in after the first episode and admit that it won't be a faithful backstory of our beloved Captain Nemo and his Legendary Submarine.

My advice for you is to watch it as a high-budget fan fiction and not as an actual adaptation. That way you'll get through all episodes without any high expectations and just enjoy the journey with the characters.

...clearly, because it is not just quite good, it is rather excellent!

So far a brilliant adaption to the original story from time honoured Science Fiction genius Jules Verne who, as the better SF Authors have been known to do, predicted technology (in this case submarines) well before they were a reality.

The cast is excellently chosen with the interactions and conflicts not only believable, but enthralling.

All the effects are immersive and cleverly drawn from historical realities mixed in with the fantasy derived from Vernes vision.

The story itself is character driven, with the infamous Nautilus being the biggest of these. Being drawn into the tale is fantastic fun, with the entire cast playing endearing characters from the villianous Admiral to the tormented Nemo and rest of the quirky unique crew of the Nautilus.

With Disney's latest offerings into SciFi, this comes as no surprise that an excellent Series was dropped by them. Bless AMC's cotton socks for picking it up, and I fervently hope enough people are exposed to this that they keep giving us more!

(UPDATED REVIEW: In order to reflect my change of star ratings. I still rate the first 3 episodes a solid 9/10, but it splashes down to a firm 7 until the final 30mins)

First things first, I don't remember much of the original, reading it in translation when I was a kid. So whatever discrepancies there are in the series with original (of which, I'm sure, there's aplenty), I can't tell. Judging the first season as "based on something", it's a very decent adventure with distinct characters and a straightforward plot and narrative. I liked the character design and portrayal, and most of the acting too. Scene and gear design is also great, IMO - the Nautilus is sleek and swift, the Dreadnought is heavy and menacing, insides of both are also accordingly delicate and utilitarian. It looks great, and complements the story greatly too.

The main downside, as I see it, is the script - not in terms of storyline but in terms of character relationship dynamics. At times, it's unbelievably cringy and stereotypical, with all the cutout mistrust and disdain for no reason, it's just too teenage and cartoonish for the otherwise realistic-looking settings. I mean, it's obviously fantastical and unreal, but it's at no point deliberately magical or superpower-like or anything. Also the ending is a bit too abrupt and haphazard.

I'm not sure there will be season 2, but season 1 is fairly finalised - with a promise of more, of course, but as an extra, not as a cliffhanger. It's a decent watch for a plain but exciting adventure.

I recently binged the first season of Nautilus and the Adventures of Captain Nemo and was pleasantly surprised.

While the show certainly has a nostalgic, cheesy charm, it's a delightful throwback to classic sci-fi shows like; Quantum Leap, Stargate franchise, Sea Quest. The visuals are stunning, capturing the underwater world with a sense of wonder and mystery.

The series' exploration of different underwater life and locations is a interesting change of pace. The Nautilus takes the audience on a thrilling journey. The show's potential for storytelling is limitless, and I hope to see many seasons to come.

While I'm disappointed that Disney passed on this series, I hope it finds a deserving home. Nautilus is a hidden gem that deserves a wider audience.

Nautilus and the adventures of Captain Nemo.

I remember this going into production the other year, and really looking forward to it, but I'm finding it hard to figure out what's the target ordinance, as it's not magical enough for kids, and a little underwhelming for adults. It looks like a Disney ride, and there's budget CGI, which dose not help the overall look. The characters are all a little predictable, as are the storylines, which is a real shame. I want to like it, but to be honest have found it a little boring. The touch paper has been lit, but I'm still waiting for the bang, which I'm hoping with come in a few episodes down the line.

I was really looking forward to seeing this series. Having grown up with the Wonderful designs and imaginative science fiction of Jules Verne, this was a bitter disappointment.

Instead of capitalising on the far seeing ecology of the original Captain Nemo, we are hijacked with a clumsy anti British / "Empire is bad" propaganda vehicle.

This could have been so much more, I'm at a loss why the writers couldn't have expanded on the original novels's far seeing message. In an age where we plunder and pollute the oceans, if they wanted to hijack Verne's masterpiece, surely, this tack would have been a far more honourable.

As a boy, I was taken to see Disney's "20,000 Leagues under the sea, the memory still lingers, all these years later. Sadly, Nautilus does not.

Oh my God, I loved it so much! Ididn't expect to like it, the first episode was a bit slow, but it got much better. It's a fun loving family friendly adventure kind of movie! Gives me old school/90's vibes! Like a mix of Sinbad, Robin hood, Pirates of the Caribbean,with a touch of Doctor Who! Not every show needs to be a masterpiece, or have sex/gore/foul language, this is one of the shows you can watch with your kids and still have fun. The adventuresate fun, characters are likeabke, episodes have the right level of adrenaline!!! If you like old school campy adventures, then go watch it right now! Can't wait for Season Two!!!

I'm only a couple episodes in and the plot changes are questionable... Did the story need a female character? Probably... Does changing the backstory of the ship etc benefit the story? Not really... Beyond that the production is fine...kids will be quite happy with the FX and sets and won't mind some of the weak acting and derivative dialogue. The cast are ok although no-one is really standing out for me but sometimes that helps the story develop without actors 'overdoing'.

So, overall a bit cliche and unmemorable for an experienced viewer but definitely something that can be watched with kids who aren't too precious.

What a breath of fresh air in these difficult days !

I really needed to escape in this refreshing show : adventure, humour, frienddhips, love, coloured characters, beautiful landscapes and great actors !... Yes this show is undoubtedly naive, but in a 90s movies kind of way. And this flavour of childhood does't affect at all the quality of the show.

We found ourselves boarding the legendary Nautilus with its eclectic crew, discovering the wonders the oceans have to offert, searching for treasures and vengeance...

Si if you want to live an epic journey with Nemo, Humility, Benoît, Boniface and the others... welcome on board !

I haven't read the book/s so I don't know how faithful the TV series is to it.

What drags the rating down is, among other things, that the dialogue is sometimes quite stilted and convoluted.

The personal portraits are very simple and the character development too obvious and easily guessed. They are forgiven a little by the fact that it is the Victorian era when you think that it is a little like what they were then.

It is unrealistic, yes of course it is a sic fi written 150 years ago but you can do a better job of making it all believable anyway. Above all, the technical solutions, even if they would work in theory, feel rather MacGyver, and the battle scenes (there are few of them, but they exist) sometimes feel like Indiana Jones, so very unrealistic, something that worked in the 80s but feels quite passé today . Then they are constantly in trouble, it feels kind of illogical to continue such a journey if they are constantly at risk of dying, in the end you hardly care, as you are thrown straight from one danger to another without them building up the threats enough beforehand.

The Computer Generated Imagenary is not always that good and is used far too much, a lot would have worked better without using it so much. You hardly get a sense of the sea, even though it takes place under and on the sea, this could have been done so much better, perhaps by actually filming a bit under the sea, including real creatures living in the sea, etc. That's probably the saddest thing about the whole series, what you'd hoped it would really capture, but no unfortunately they don't succeed at all here. Almost everything feels studio made and then put on Computer Generated Imagenary. It might not be like that, but that's the feeling you get.

The series rarely get really tense and you have a hard time empathizing with the characters.

What still makes it worth watching is that it is interesting to see a series that takes place in a different environment, there is an element of adventure and in between it glimmers and becomes quite good.

You also get a bit of the political aspects that existed then, even if you only get glimpses of it (and they are not completely historically correct, but you still get the idea), it is interesting to see the Indian freedom root/independence movement at that time, also some other historical perspectives even if they are often too obvious.

Worth seeing the series? Yes, it is entertaining, but hardly a masterpiece.

It's poor. It's weak & predictable. About as gripping as lubed sausages. All contempory generic themed boxes are ticked. And worst of all, a near total disregard for the source material.

The script is weak & unoriginal. The acting is painfully poor; but what can you expect with such thin creative threads to hold on to.

It's just a bit of an unsure jittery mess.

P. S. If your going to run with the anti Anglo-imperialist theme (which I'm all for being Scots-Irish) you have to be honest about it. British troops in India were predominantly Indian. Empires have always utilised the manpower of the lands they rule. Plenty of Irish men served in the British army. And you have to be more nuanced than white men are bad, white women & people of colour are good.

Give the writing some depth.

I was skeptical of the series at first but it is a really good watch a mix of believable characters and adventures all based around Nemo and crew wanting revenge. The thread is through each episode of them going on a journey to find treasure to pay for their individual reasons for revenge. The end of the season is neatly tied up and leaves it ready for the beginning of season 2 Just enjoy being entertained old style looking forward to season 2 hopefully it's picked up and all the original characters are on board and maybe pick up some old and new characters along the way. Hence the reason for the 7 stars.

We've all heard of Captain Nemo and the Nautilus. This adaptation of that story is going to disappoint the Jules Verne fanatics. However, I found it to be a breath of fresh air.

It reminded me of The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen which I absolutely loved. Nautilus has all the elements required to be a big hit. Fun, adventure, sea monsters et al. The characters are vivid, engaging and very likable. Every episode moves the story along and it has a great ending (and possibilities for another season). It's also suitable for all the family, something that is all to rare these days. Give it a go, you will know after the first episode if it's for you or not.

Nautilus is a highly watchable and enjoyable drama, if your a fan of fantasy or JV then watch. If you need some escapism then watch ...

Imagine the scene, a writers room with the walls plastered with nots, maybe a few lush images of what the submarine could look like to inspire, and somebody calls out

'I need a joke here ...'

the comedian brought in to support srirs from his email and leans in he make a quip - down in the script it goes as nobody can actually remember what went before.

5 minutes later the cabin boy needs a line 'a line for the cabin boy' ... nobody can think of anything so he gets to speak to the dog again.

Nautilus feels like it has a coherent idea, one which has a big budget and at times strong script - but then it take a pause or somebody slips in another page of absolute rubbish.

Nautilus has a big budget and big stars but maybe a little bit more needed spending on the script - less lush costumes - less real whales - (you'll see what I mean) and more well ... script - and more - well somebody which it lacks to make it a strong 7.

There are some weak characters here and some weak acting - some of it complicated by Australians doing English Accents form another age, 'Blaster' got his from the Famous Five at some point.

There is also a lack of character development early on, your forgetting who somebody is and why they are there before they decide to tell you. I'm not a great fan of character development or back story - an episode per character it slows down the pace but here it seems to get forgotten.

The Guardian and some reviews are harsh but fair - in my opinion this if flawed but watchable and even enjoyable.

The epidemic of remakes is a stain on the formerly creative entertainment industry, but the practice I find particularly offensive is changing a title or character perspective of a popular story or franchise by creatively bankrupt hacks who think they are being clever.

Worse, they are so busy patting themselves on the back for cheating their way into an already broken industry and pretending they fooled us that they either forget or simply don't bother writing an engaging and intelligent story that remains faithful to the spirit of the source material, be it the original literary work or classic film adaptation of said work.

As with the title or premise, they also change other elements for the sake of changing them, not because they had good ideas. Creativity is dying because young people are no longer challenged to push themselves and experience the world, nor taught to think critically, especially in regards to their own brain-dead drivel.

There are hundreds of original and well written stories available in the form of novels, graphic novels, short stories, and short films that wallow in obscurity instead of being adapted for the first time, yet these illiterate people with neither academic nor practical experience in any field or discipline are the ones getting to write for the television and film industries.

Action, political intrigue, plot twists and a healthy amount of sea monster skirmishes:

These are just some of the many reason why even those unfamiliar with the works of Jules Verne will find "Nautilus" to be an engaging SciFi adventure series.

When I heard that there was going to be a TV series about Captain Nemo's backstory, I was mightily apprehensive. The main reason for this apprehension was the mere fact that Captain Nemo's past is so dark and tragic. Thankfully, the series begins after the horrific events of the 1857 rebellion and just as the Nautilus is launched. What happened to Nemo's family is shown in flashbacks which explain the events without being graphic.

When I began the show, I honestly had very low expectations. I didn't really expect to like it. To my delighted asonishment, it turned out to be one of the best film tributes to Jules Verne I've ever seen - no hyperbole.

Throughout the series, there are fight scenes, periodic depictions of people bleeding and a couple "blink-and-you'll-miss-it" innuendo jokes, so I wouldn't watch it with a small child, but I think it would be appropriate to watch with most young teenagers (13+).

I believe both well-read Jules Verne fans and those who've hardly heard the name "Captain Nemo" will enjoy the intriguing storyline, likable characters and aesthetic scenery. There are many other factors which made me fall in love with "Nautilus" as well:

-> The character of Captain Nemo has always facinated me. I was blown away by how perfectly and accurately Captain Nemo was portrayed in this series. Shazad Latif, in my opinion, is an immaculate Captain Nemo and he really brought the character to life with all his complexities. Out of all the film portrayals of Captain Nemo I've seen, I'd have to say his has been by far my favorite.

-> I'm American an my husband is Indian. He and I were both very impressed with the way in which Indian culture and history were presented. I want to see more shows like this to teach our son about his heritage.

Many of the action scenes reminded me of South Indian cinema. In one episode there is a scene where the Nautilus crew is playing cricket against some Englishmen, which may seem a little disconnected from the rest of the story, but Bollywood fans may recognize it as a delightful tribute to "Lagaan!"

->Although the story wasn't 100% accurate to the book, the writers obviously had read Verne's books and knew the nuances of Nemo's story and background quite throughly.

There were certain details which made me excited, such as when Nemo has an enigmatic exchange with an Englishman in which they greet each other warmly and seem to be thanking each other for...something. Nemo ends the conversation by saying, "Give my regards to Phileas!"

->In Verne's other classic, "Around the World in 80 Days," Princess Aouda is the widow of the Raj of Bundelkhand. Since Jules Verne often dropped little hints that his books existed in the same universe, I always wondered if Aouda and Nemo were distantly related, since Bundelkhand is Nemo's kingdom of origin.

A question is posed: in this conversation, was Nemo thanking the Foggs for saving someone he cared about? This is the first time I've ever seen anyone address the detail that Aouda and Nemo might be relatives.

->I noticed several shots which were obvious tributes to the first-edition illustrations of Jules Verne's classics, such as Captain Nemo standing on the submarine deck with his spyglass, and the map of Lincoln Island on a cave wall. Those details absolutely thrilled me!

->Everything about this show absolutely floored me. It was everything I could have hoped for in a Captain Nemo TV series...and then it ended.

Such a well-done series ending with fairly significant loose ends felt like a punch in the gut more forceful than the maelstrom itself. I've been trying not to let it overshadow the rest of the show. I wish with all my heart that there could be a season two!

Great story but if you're at all annoyed by less than perfect CGI and attention to detail then maybe this isn't for you. Episode 5 had me almost ready to give up. I'm not a Sci-fi fan so am not used to the plot holes, errors and other less than believable things that showed up in this series BUT, if you can look past those things. It's actually pretty entertaining.

At times I felt like I was watching something really exciting and at others, I recalled watching "Voyage to the Centre of the Earth" as a child and kind of felt like this could have, at times, been made in the same era.

I watched it because Stan had it listed as "historic", let's just say that's not completely accurate but it is a bit of fun and you never know, you might even like it.

This might be the worst adaptaion of Vernes' wonderful story. The production crew obviously wanted to go the farthest away possible from the original as possible, but bad writers can never dream to write anything decent, so instead we're stuck with this abomination. Dialogues are awful, actors went their most subpar acting, visuals and costumes are barely decent enough to not be laughably bad, pacing ain't pacing right.

Trying to be positive some sets are looking pretty nice.

Whoever greenlit this shows clearly has no idea about the original story, or about entertainment in general.

Not worth a damn.

Though it is loosely based on the Jules Verne novels, I would probably summarise it as an inspired or reimagining that should be taken as light-hearted entertainment, on this basis it is enjoyable. It does interweave some interesting plots from original writings to create some interesting storylines like how to taken on the imperialist East Company and Nemo's changing his perspectives and plans. I thought the Nautilus cast was very decent, my only main criticisms are that the East Company or 'baddie' portrayals were a bit simplistic that could have had more interesting antagonist characters and there were a few lines that were obviously meant to be funny but was a bit outdated and cheesy. Visuals and production were really good, and overall series was fun with various adventures and easy to watch.

A more balanced view of history would be a welcome change, sadly you won't be getting it in Nautilus.

History used to be taught as factual now it's agenda driven, not just in schools but on our screens.

The East India Company was a reflection of it's time, it was no better and no worse than any other business of it's day. Nor indeed was the British Empire any different..although it brought democracy, the rule of law, free speech and the end of slavery to hundreds of millions of people.

But Nautilus will tell you otherwise. If you want shallow entertainment then do indeed watch it but if you want historical accuracy you're better off watching Sesame Street.

I saw the movie from 1954 was similar but shorter. That was the best adaptation of Jules Verne 20000 leagues under the Sea.

The series presents the rebels, escaping colonialism and slavery, aided by other people, some with good intentions some with not so noble intentions.

Its a steampunk universe of good vs corporate evil, but is something that precedes the Jules Verne novel.

Casting fits the narrative, actors are good, scenery is superb, and actually the submarine itself looks like the one in 1954 movie. I highly recommend you watch also that one before you enjoy the series.

I gave it a solid 10 since we desperately need more steampunk good vs evil series and movies.

Shame, could have been fun in a camp League of Extraordinary Gentlemen way but decided that pushing a somewhat tired anti-English trope even down to the bad teeth stereotype (never mind that the British empire was wholeheartedly English, Scottish, Welsh and until the 1920s, Irish (sorry Ireland for the record generally)) and, as another reviewer has quite rightly pointed out, most of their overseas troops where from the relevant country (it being a huge game of bluff if you will) and having the comical effect of everyone bad being white and male and everyone good being either female or of colour (all with good teeth regardless of background of course) means that it cuts across what could have been a fun show. Imagine it will do well with tweens and teens (nothing wrong with that of course).