I do find it a patriotically stirring film, actually, to contradict what I said earlier.
But you have the Irish doctor Stephen maturin in the film (played without an Irish accent) expressing scepticism about naval service and Nelson etc. Deflating Aubrey's romantic view of things. You see how superstitious and cruel the sailors can be.
And the French are only ever glimpsed. There is some sense of kinship you see between the two captains, like sporting rivals, but the motives of each side are never examined, let alone critically, so you can't help but view the French as the lurking threat to be outsmarted and "soundly beaten".
Anyway, this doesn't decrease my enjoyment of the film one bit. It's a rollicking good time.