On Screen: “Nautilus”
Nautilus
The journey of “Nautilus” to AMC has been almost as perilous as Jules Verne’s vendetta against the East India Mercantile Company — which came to symbolize imperialism and colonialism.
Originally touted as a Disney+ reimagining of “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea,” “Nautilus” eventually became a 10-episode live-action series.
This epic, seafaring adventure tells the origin story of enigmatic Captain Nemo. Born Prince Dakkar, son of a Maharajah, he was robbed of his birthright and family and held prisoner by the rapacious East India Company which was given tremendous power during the British Raj (rule) of the Indian subcontinent from 1857 to 1947.
In Kalpani, India, Nemo (Shazad Latif) is among a group of enslaved workers helping to build Nautilus, the world’s first submersible, when he discovers that, although the ship’s designer, French scientist Gustave Benoit (Thierry Fremont), was told the vessel was for scientific research, it was actually destined for battle.
With the help of betrayed Benoit, first mate Boniface Adamu (Pacharo Mzembe), and giant Maori warrior Kai (Tyrone Ngatai), vengeful Nemo steals the Nautilus and heads into open waters where he immediately rams into a ship helmed by Capt. Youngblood (Jacob Collins Levy) that’s carrying highborn Humility Lucas (Georgia Flood) and her chaperone-bodyguard Loti (Celine Manville).
Unwilling to join Lord Pitt (Cameron Cuffe), the husband chosen for her, Humility and Loti board the Nautilus, where rebellious Humility, who studied mathematics and physics, soon demonstrates her considerable engineering skills when the power goes out and the ballast pumps stop working.
While the Nautilus is relentlessly pursued by greedy Company Director Crawley (Damien Garvey) and Capt. Youngblood, now aboard the battleship Dreadnaught, there are thrills and chills galore — like when a huge electric eel encircles the sub, dragging them down toward a subterranean volcano, plus a giant squid, lethal aquatic creatures, and a harpooned whale.
FYI: In the many screen adaptations of Verne’s underwater saga, Capt. Nemo has been played by James Mason, Michael Caine, Robert Ryan and Patrick Stewart.
On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “Nautilus” is a family-friendly yet somewhat cheesy, swashbuckling 6, streaming on AMC, where it’s liberally peppered with commercials.
Susan Granger is a product of Hollywood. Her natural father, S. Sylvan Simon, was a director and producer at M.G.M. and Columbia Pictures. Her adoptive father, Armand Deutsch, produced movies at M.G.M.
As a child, Susan appeared in movies with Abbott & Costello, Red Skelton, Lucille Ball, Margaret O’Brien, and Lassie. She attended Mills College in California, studying journalism with Pierre Salinger, and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with highest honors in journalism.