The Bounty at 40

whether to reveal the truth about Tynah’s “hero” Captain James Cook.

Duties are neglected, routines ignored, as The Bounty’s crew enjoy their surroundings, “lethargy and flagrant defiance” that Bligh counters with greater and greater restrictions, until the desertions begin and the captain decides enough is enough and orders the ship to head back to sea to continue their voyage.

As a final coup de grace, Bligh announces a demoralisingly familiar course to get them to Jamaica. Cue increasing tension, endless deck swabbing and the raiding of a personal coconut stash that escalates into the incident that the boat is most famous for.

From the slightly off-kilter on-board angles to the sun-baked Tahitian paradise, Donaldson certainly does his best to create an immersive backdrop to his bromance gone sour.

Bolt’s screenplay evokes memories of another Heart of Darkness-descent-intomadness movie, Apocalypse Now, albeit without really ever generating the same sense of menace or threat.

Indeed, while Hopkins clearly throws himself into the role of increasing outsider and Neeson gives good brawler, we never really get too deep into either Gibson or Day-lewis’ supposedly crucial characters.

Likewise, Vangelis’ synth soundtrack adds atmosphere and enhances the sense of foreboding, but it lacks the propulsive power or memorability of his more famous works on Chariots of Fire and 1492: Conquest of Paradise.

Still, despite some uneven pacing and being distinctly a boys’ own adventure,

The Bounty has held up well, its sturdiness perhaps as much a reason for Hollywood’s lack of interest in revisiting the story, as the reputation for water-based movies being a financial sinkhole.