I was interested in to see this movie Admiral, because i come from Chatham in England. In 1967 on the 300th anniversary of the Battle Of Chatham a Dutch band visit Chatham and tour some our schools. We were taught about the battle. The film itself, i thought was very good. I disagree one reviewer, that us English were portrayed as dumb. It showed that we were arrogant. Our politician Samuel Pepys warned England and not underrated the Dutch. It showed that, the Dutch took a gamble. If they had lost, Holland would be open to invasion by England, France and Germany. It is good that two versions have been made, so younger viewers can watch it. Dutch and English. Nice to see some good actors from Holland. Frank Lammers, Dereck Le Lint, Barry Atsma and of course Rutger Hauer in a small role and English Actor, Charles Dance as King Charles 11. I hope at this movie will be shown at least on English television.

I've always fantasized about this naval period. This movie gave me the chance to experience this strange deceptive era in theatrical form.

The young republic, striving to establish and maintain strong trading routes, are flawed by who they thought were their allies all along. Physically and mentally provoked and by three nations at once, it goes to show that a country can indeed establish itself through courage, determination and wit.

Long as the film was, I found it a wonderful experience to watch from start to finish. I didn't expect to see scenes in England, let alone ones containing the mad monarchist King James II. What a mentalist.

Many scenes featuring the Dutch King Willem II and admiral Tromp were simply captivating to the point that I felt I was actually living the moment in that era.

Michiel de Ruyter, has definitely won a place in my heart and I will definitely be watching this one again someday.

Movie dedicated to the life and times of Michiel de Ruyter, an admiral who is to the Dutch what Nelson is to the English. The Dutch see him as one of the architects of their survival, independence and prosperity - try and get more heroic than that.

First the good : the movie is a feast for the eyes. The very best visual and special effects are used to recreate seventeenth-century vessels and naval battles. These splendid ships, multiplied beyond counting, are so achingly beautiful that they seem to belong in a painter's dream of heaven. The locations, the props, the costumes : they're all superbly convincing and delightful to look at. Watching the movie means traveling back to the seventeenth century, as in a time machine.

So the movie works, as a window on another time. It also works as a history lesson : even people unfamiliar with the birth pangs of the modern Netherlands will grasp the stakes of the various wars and civic disorders going on.

But that's about it. There are failures of the imagination, probably at the level of directing and writing. The movie describes ferociously exciting events, but it isn't all that exciting itself ; it gives us an engaging portrayal of an important man, but it fails to dig deep into his soul ; it deals with subjects such as conspiracy, torture and political assassination, but it struggles to grasp or convey the nature of human evil. The movie also makes some inexplicable choices : for instance, Rutger Hauer (a fine artist and a member of Dutch acting royalty) shows up at the beginning, only in order to die nobly a few minutes later. Spellbinding it is not.

Last but not least there is the music. I really really did not like it - it was bombastic and it ruined pretty much every moment which could or should have been heartrending, such as the lynching of the de Witt brothers or the funeral of the great admiral himself.