Britannic

Britannic starts off quite well, with relatively good effects and interesting characters, although its claim of being "based on true events" is very misleading, somewhat similar to saying that Men In Black was based on true events as Earth, where it was based, existed. The Britannic did indeed sink off Greece, although the sinking was believed due to a torpedo strike or mine, not German agents on board the ship as the film pretends. Too many facts are wrong in this film, either made up or worse still blatantly contradicting the real event - but taken as a work of total fiction, which it basically is, it is still enjoyable. That said, it just copies its sibling, James Cameron's Titanic, far too much - too many things in this film are copies of Titanic's plot, right down to the love story between two people of different classes - in this case German and British rather than First Class and Third Class. The film weakens noticeably towards the end, the special effects (which seem to have been quickly put together by the same effects house as for Titanic, but with little of the attention to detail) get a lot poorer, and the plot falls to pieces in its attempts to copy the Titanic formula. Watch it if you've nothing else better to do, but don't expect the plot to live up to the real event's promise...

30 or so people died when the H.M.H.S Britannic sank, 55 minutes after striking a mine, and this is how we respect them?

I am shocked at the fact that the film makers had the nerve to use the name Britannic in this steaming pile of a movie.

Don't even bother seeing this movie for yourself, the real story is far more dramatic. For instance, Violet Jessop, who was a nurse on the Britannic, was also on the Titanic 4 years earlier, and she was onboard the Titanic's other sister ship, the R.M.S. Olympic, when she collided with the British cruiser, the H.M.S. Hawke, in 1911. This poor women was on all three Olympic-Class liners (as they were called) when they experienced tragedies, and she isn't even mentioned. However, I believe that the main character in the movie is loosely based on her.

This movie was defanately far from the truth. There were not german agents onboard who tried to blow up the ship and sink it and the ship didn't get hijacked and crew members were not shot by german spys. The Britannic was torpedoed off of Greece. So, this movie was extremely fictional so if you are looking for something historical acurate, this will not make your list. But, the story, I personally thought, was very neat and the effects and settings were very well done and looked very true to life. It's worth the time watching but THIS IS FICTION!

A cheap cash-in on TITANIC, replacing the heading-for-an-iceberg storyline with one involving a German agent (this is set during the First World War) with plans to sabotage the titular hospital ship. BRITANNIC is sub standard in every respect, with poor casting, a laughable script and all manner of low-rent heroics which never convince. When I tell you that this is a made-for-TV movie, all of the above will make sense.

I watched it for Brian Trenchard-Smith, the maverick B-movie director of TURKEY SHOOT and THE MAN FROM HONG KONG, who can still make a decent Z-grade flick occasionally (I'm thinking AZTEC REX). Sadly, Britannic isn't one of his better films, as it's an entirely forgettable escapade which pales in comparison to just about any other seafaring movie you can mention. The leads are dull, the only cast interest comes from three B-flick veterans (John Rhys-Davies, delightful as the gruff captain; Bruce Payne, not a bad guy for a chance; Wolf Kahler in his usual typecast role) and the most offensive part of the story is that we're supposed to buy a romance between the female agent and the German spy! Even worse, we're supposed to sympathise with the guy's predicament when he's the one responsible for what happens in the first place; I don't know about you, but I was cheering when the propeller appeared.

While this is one of the better sort of 'made for TV movies', it did contain one mistake that made me cringe. During a conversation between the German Spy and an Irish accomplice, the accomplice states that many of the Irish seamen aboard will be glad to take part in the seizure of the ship because ' they've had family killed by the Black and Tans'. This is supposed to be 1916. The Black and Tans weren't founded until 1920. Its just a pity that that small element wasn't properly checked out first.