Adventure series Nautilus boasts style but lacks substance
Captain Nemo and his crew make their way to AMC.
Photo: AMC Networks
The brooding, charismatic hero of Jules Verne’s classic Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea has appeared in tons of films and shows over the years—and for good reason. Captain Nemo is an enigmatic figure, possessing a solid moral code but driven by a dangerous desire for vengeance. He’s also a flawed man whose heart and mind are engaged in a tug-of-war, which makes his journey interesting to follow. And now Nemo is at the center of Nautilus. Set in and around India during the height of British colonial rule, the 10-part epic reimagines his underwater adventures with a few twists that, unfortunately, steer this ship into choppy waters.
For a show featuring whales, sharks, a colossal squid, an electric eel, and killer aquatic bugs, Nautilus is oddly bland. It’s not the fault of the visual effects or the production and set design because the scenery is gorgeous. The sunny islands, Arctic glaciers, cities, palaces, and cobalt seas that Nemo and his crew find themselves in are more appealing than the actual storylines. Exacerbated by underwhelming performances, Nautilus simply fails to strike an emotional chord.
The series draws from Twenty Thousand Leagues and Verne’s follow-up, The Mysterious Island, in which Nemo’s true heritage as Indian royalty is revealed. After a rebellion against the East India Mercantile Company in 1857, Nemo (a.k.a. Prince Dakkar) loses his kingdom and family, so his precious ship becomes his anchor. Nautilus spins this into an origin story in which Nemo (Shazad Latif) is a rugged captive of the British with an upsetting past. In the premiere, he escapes prison along with a few convicts, steals the submarine he helped design, and dedicates himself to bringing down the company, even if his agenda puts the lives of his new friends at risk.
An inherent sense of danger lurks throughout as people live inside a spacious sub while the company’s huge ship chases after them. What’s more, Nemo is on a treasure hunt that takes him and his crew to everywhere from Atlantis to a meeting with Valkyries to fit the show’s case-of-the-week structure. Unfortunately, this reliable format is populated with forgettable players.