I have heard that the original plot was altered to reflect a French foe when in fact the original enemy were the Americans so they had to go through a whole routine about why the American ship was in the French Navy etc. out of fear of losing the American audience.
It's nice to know that we have (or had) equal power of intimidation and censorship over movies with China.
Russell Crowe is a very competent actor and he did a good job in this movie and the other production values were all in order.
