Although this movie gets hokey at times, thanks to Kirk Douglas' somewhat buffoonish portrayal of captured whaling harpoonist Ned Land and James Mason's somewhat stiltily-portrayed Captain Nemo, it is, none-the-less a powerful depiction of one brilliant man's violent revenge against the hated governments which have murdered his family in their brutal attempts to steal the secret of nuclear-electric energy from Nemo. Nemo -- along with his hand-picked and loyal-unto-death crew of political fugitives from all nations -- have used Nemo's brilliant ideas to create the magnificent and much-feared submarine Nautilus, with which they constantly roam the seas, sinking all warships by ripping through their wooden hulls at ferocious speed with the powerful iron-hulled Nautilus. But Ned Land only dreams of his eventual freedom, and does everything he can to escape. This is high adventure for the whole family.