When a sudden attack by a French warship inflicts casualities and severe damage upon his vessel, Captain “Lucky” Jack Aubrey (Crowe) of the British Royal Navy is torn between duty and friendship as he embarks on a thrilling, high-stakes chase across two oceans to intercept and capture the enemy at any cost. Nominated for 10 Academy Awards including Best Picture!In the capable hands of director Peter Weir, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World is a seafaring adventure like no other, impeccably authentic, dynamically cast, and thrilling enough to give any classic swashbuckler a run for its money. In adapting two of Patrick O’Brian’s enormously popular novels about British naval hero Capt. Jack Aubrey, Weir and cowriter John Collee have changed the timeframe from the British/American war of 1812 to the British/French opposition of 1805, where the HMS Surprise, under Aubrey’s confident command, is patrolling the South Atlantic in pursuit of the Acheron, a French warship with the strategic advantage of greater size, speed, and artillery. Russell Crowe is outstanding as Aubrey, firm and fiercely loyal, focused on his prey even if it means locking horns with his friend and ship’s surgeon, played by Crowe’s A Beautiful Mind costar Paul Bettany. Employing a seamless combination of carefully matched ocean footage, detailed models, full-scale ships, and CGI enhancements, Weir pays exacting attention to every nautical detail, while maintaining a very human story of honor, warfare, and survival under wretched conditions. Raging storms and hull-shattering battles provide pulse-pounding action, and a visit to the Galapagos Islands lends a note of otherworldly wonder, adding yet another layer of historical perspective to this splendidly epic adventure. –Jeff Shannon
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January 15, 2006
#1
this is a horrible poor excuse for an action/war movie. i’ve only shut off 3 movies in my whole life without finishing them and this is one of them and i watch plenty of movies, i own over 400 dvds. the movie appears to be awesome from the previews, but this is a trick to get you to see it. after watching this for a little over an hour, i wanted to rip my hair out of my head because it was rediculously boring. i would give this negative stars if i could. russell crowe is an excellent actor, but hopefully he chooses better roles in the future after this one.
January 15, 2006
#2
This has got to be one of the most overrated and boring films of all time. I went in expecting a movie that would deliver a good story about a naval battle and the such. I left the theater feeling ripped off. The movie spends a painfully long amount of time on useless and irrelevant little stories about so called “Life on the sea”. This film shouldn’t even be described as a Full length movie. It should be described as a very long documentary (read dull and slow) about naval life paired with a mini action short. The only thing that kept us from falling asleep during the film was the nicely done cinematography.
IMO, don’t waste your time and money.
January 15, 2006
#3
Initially, I did not want to see this film, however, after seeing the trailer, I thought that there was enough action and adventure to keep the film interesting. I should have trusted my first instinct.
As it turns out, all the action is in the first 10 minutes and the last 10 minutes. Unfortunately, the two hours in between is as boring and vapid as any movie since The English Patient. I would have left this movie had I not been with friends (none of whom enjoyed the film either).
January 15, 2006
#4
all i have to say is anything you really want to see in this movie can be seen in the previews. thats how sad it was. my date and i both fell asleep. the first part is ok. from there its just downhill. not even rent worthy!
January 15, 2006
#5
The movie was poorly produced. The plot stinks and you have action at the beginning and end and not a lot in between. If you like naval warfare movies then maybe this is your thing but it is not something I will be adding to my DVD collection.