The Asylum generally tackle recent releases with their line in mockbusters but here they have decided to adapt classic literature with a modernised take on Moby Dick. Although the 2010 in the title might suggest a reference to the update to present day The Asylum have freely admitted that this actually has more to do with gaming the VOD system.
2010: Moby Dick begins with Ahab’s (Barry Bostwick) first encounter with the five-six hundred foot whale in 1969. Taking down the submarine that Ahab is serving on the whale tears it in two, ripping off Ahab’s leg in the process. Flash forward to 2010 and Ahab is the captain of a state of the art submarine and intent on exacting vengeance on the whale that took his leg. In order to track it down he enlists the help of scientist and whale call expert Michelle (Renee O’Connor). Michelle’s character is pretty underwritten but O’Connor is probably something of a draw due to her cult TV past as the sidekick in Xena: Warrior Princess. This could also be the reasoning behind introducing her character, in a scene that is in part included to set up her scientific credentials, wearing a bikini top.
This is an Asylum film so it almost goes without saying that the CGI effects are woeful, the dialogue corny, the acting patchy and the plot filled with gaping holes but 2010: Moby Dick is not without strengths and actually stands up as one of the better of The Asylum’s output. This higher standing appears to be down to two people, director Trey Stokes and lead actor Barry Bostwick.
Stokes, making his Asylum directorial debut, has a interesting past in film having worked in puppeteering and visual effects on films such as The Abyss, The Blob (1988), Robocop 2, The Polar Express, Starship Troopers and Team America: World Police. Unlike a lot of The Asylum’s output 2010: Moby Dick actually has a sense of a director trying to make something pretty decent with competence and a level of talent. This admittedly doesn’t always come across but the intent is clearly there and that is at least a start.
The intent is clearly there on Bostwick’s part too and the actor comes very close to stealing the film. Clearly putting thought into the role he turns in a surprisingly convincing and incredibly memorable performance. Obviously actually caring about doing a good job his spirited performance is key in keeping the momentum up and his line readings of some of the more ludicrous dialogue has just the right mix of class and melodrama.
