The acting ensemble here is totally wasted. They walk through. I've never seen a really bad performance from Patrick Stewart until tonight, and while it's possible he was doing what was asked of him - the result is something between a train wreck and paint drying.<br /><br />The special effects are worse than can be believed in this day (I do better on my laptop, and I'm NOT a pro!). Certainly not as good as Harryhousen's version.<br /><br />Though certainly truer to Verne's book than previous versions I've seen, it's really not worth watching for three hours, even on 'free' TV. It might be good when edited to a 90 minute special.