The obligatory visit to a Polynesian Isle is followed by the full emergence of the movie's second theme: Naturalism and Evolutionism in 1804, with the British ship Surprise's medical doctor adopting the young Lord (Paul Bettany) as his research assistant in the Galapagos, to which the Surprise steers in its pursuit of the French Privateer.
There is the little reverse-twist on late 18th century politics - you'd think the "Rights of Man" was a phrase coined in London, not Paris. And the movie, like most PG movies I've seen, treats mass mayhem like an enormous party and individual bravery as achievable by all.
But this is simply great entertainment. Forget your politics, forget the reality of wars for 130 minutes, and indulge yourself at 13. The only classes are the brave and the unbrave. And the "true" rewards are to go down in history with Lord Nelson or to be disappeared from history.
