Rating: 
Summary: The War on the Waters
Review: I came to 'Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World' with little expectations beyond reasonable entertainment. I was thus surprised that this was a powerful little human drama about a vicious chase in the high seas.What makes 'Master and Commander' successful is not the plot, which is a straightforward cat and mouse story. Rather, it succeeds because of its gritty sense of realism and the ability to capture the feel of time and place. While most historical movies feature ordinary, contemporary people in period dress (see 'Gangs of New York'), Master and Commander does feel like it takes place in the early 19th century. It is little things, like Captain Jack Aubrey (Russell Crowe) motivating his troops by demanding "Do you want your children to sing 'La Marseillaise'?", or the real excitement the characters display in discussing Nelson. Also powerful is the film's feel for the hardships of warfare on the Sea. Early in the film, a child loses his arm, and throughout the movie real characters suffer casual death. At one point Jack Aubrey must choose between saving one man and saving his crew, and he allows the man to drown. This form of realism is so rare in Hollywood films, in makes 'Master and Commander' truly unique. The great weakness of the film is its episodic nature. There is scarcely a plot - the hunt for the French frigate "Acheron" is merely a framework for the individual happenings, which include a storm, a suicide, and most infamously, a rather overlong subplot about Crowe's sidekick's (Paul Bettany) Darwin-like expedition to Galapagos Islands. Indeed, the emergence of this subplot makes the second half of the film slow and much less interesting then the first half. Although the scenery is breathtaking, the story just fails to move, until Bettany's accidental discovery of the Acheron, which sets the stage for the climatic battle. Director Peter Weir and his crew should be commanded for a great adaptation of Patrick O'Brien's seafaring adventure. If there will be a sequel, I will go with high expectations.
Rating: 
Summary: An exciting tale of naval warfare
Review: "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World," directed by Peter Weir, tells the rousing story of HMS Surprise, an English warship sailing around South America during the Napoleonic era. The ship's captain (played by Russell Crowe) engages in a battle of wits, wills, and firepower with a rival captain during the perilous sea trek. This is a vivid, exciting tale of naval warfare, but it's also a satisfying and moving portrayal of a unique community: the company of a warship. The film is full of stirring action scenes, but it is equally rich in the details of the men's everyday life: their food, shipboard entertainment, naval tradition, etc. It's a sweaty, muscular portrait that really puts you in the midst of this fascinating world. Weir gets superb performances from the large ensemble cast. Crowe won my heart as the captain: he portrays a man who is tough and witty, but also humane and reasonable. Paul Bettany plays the ship's surgeon, both a loyal friend and verbal sparring partner for the captain; it's a marvelously realized relationship. The rest of the cast rises to the high mark set by these excellent performers; Max Pirkis in particular shines as a courageous young midshipman. There are some intense scenes of violence and combat surgery. But this material is not gratuitous, and is handled with care by Weir, who never loses sight of his characters' humanity. And the film is also about much more than war; it's also about exploring a distant land and seeing wondrous sights. There are nice moments of humor to balance out the film's serious themes of military discipline, ethics and tactics. Overall, M&C is a rousing adventure story, told with heart. As a Navy veteran myself, I'd like to thank and commend all involved with this film.
Rating:
Summary: A great character piece
Review: The main complaint people seem to have about Master and Commander is that, in effect, there aren't enough explosions. Indeed, if you're looking for a hands-down action movie with flying wood and bullets every which way and a battle every five minutes, you'll probably be disappointed with M&C. But it's that very lack of brainless violence and "cool action" that makes this movie stand out. It's rare to see an action movie with such fully developed characters, and Peter Weir could well have limited the characters in favor of more action, which would no doubt have boosted the box office. But the characters are what do it for this movie: the attention spent on the nuances in the friendship between Aubrey and Maturin, the way even children must develop to the "grown-up" conditions of naval life, the way the seamen react to their captain's executive decisions, sometimes leading to the deaths of their companions. If this film was more concerned with an intricate and action-filled plot, not only would it be untrue to the books on which it's based, but it would sacrifice what Weir and Patrick O'Brien himself believed to be most important. In short, if you go into this movie expecting "Braveheart" or "Horation Hornblower," you probably won't like it. But if your expectations for character development are high, you'll be pleasantly surprised.
Rating:
Summary: Master and commander review
Review: 'Master and commander' is one of those spectacular films that now comes along rarley. i think its a brilliant film and put it up with films such as the 'Lord Of The Rings' trilogy because its amazing! the graphics are cool and the special effects rule. much better than 'Pirates Of The Caribbean'.(...)
Rating: 
Summary: Great Movie - but the DVD needs more
Review: I thought this was one of the best movies of 2003. I can't imagine how Peter Weir (and the studio) resisted dumbing down of this movie to make it more appealing to average movie goers, but I am glad they did. This was what made it so great. I felt totally immersed in the way of life in the early 19th century Royal Navy. In addition I like it when the director doesn't add in a love story into a situation where it is very unnecessary as was the case with this movie. There is a glaring problem with the DVD though. There are no extras! About the only thing that was extra was the ability to watch it with English subtitles (that was actually cool since I saw a lot of dialogue I was missing in the theatre). The cruelest thing was the "Inside Look" option. I couldn't wait to check it out. Imagine my dismay to find that it was merely previews for upcoming movies. Hence, I have to give a 4 star DVD rating to a 5 star movie.
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding movie
Review: To really appreciate this movie, you should watch it with the subtitles on to catch the subtle meanings. I believe Aubrey does want to catch the Acheron because of the injury to young Blakeney. This movie gets better each time you watch it. The ending is perfectly positioned to allow a sequel. Unlike Pirates of the Carribean which was somewhat entertaining but utterly ridiculous, this is a credible movie and beautifully done.
Rating:
Summary: very original, it suprised me!
Review: I like this movie quite a bit. It started out with a short battle which amazed me BOOM pecies fly and people die BOOM our movie ship flees. And then we are introduced to charachters of the movie, captain doctor and kids that are aparantly going to be future captains i DONT know i am sry. Anyway this movie is not about a ceratin charachter or movie, it is about a life on a ship in i think 1800ds. How crude the life was on those boats and how rough it was to and still is to be a sailor or a captain. This crew goes through number of events that i found funny sad and interestingthan they fought a french cruiser i think and it was a cool looking battle but it felt a little stale, something was missing anyway movie was cool and witty i may not have read all the 20 books to understand what was cut out but i sure feel like this a good addition to those rare naval movies oout there i hope you Enjoy.
Rating:
Summary: An exciting tale of naval warfare
Review: "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World," directed by Peter Weir, tells the rousing story of HMS Surprise, an English warship sailing around South America during the Napoleonic era. The ship's captain (played by Russell Crowe) engages in a battle of wits, wills, and firepower with a rival captain during the perilous sea trek. This is a vivid, exciting tale of naval warfare, but it's also a satisfying and moving portrayal of a unique community: the company of a warship. The film is full of stirring action scenes, but it is equally rich in the details of the men's everyday life: their food, shipboard entertainment, naval tradition, etc. It's a sweaty, muscular portrait that really puts you in the midst of this fascinating world. Weir gets superb performances from the large ensemble cast. Crowe won my heart as the captain: he portrays a man who is tough and witty, but also humane and reasonable. Paul Bettany plays the ship's surgeon, both a loyal friend and verbal sparring partner for the captain; it's a marvelously realized relationship. The rest of the cast rises to the high mark set by these excellent performers; Max Pirkis in particular shines as a courageous young midshipman. There are some intense scenes of violence and combat surgery. But this material is not gratuitous, and is handled with care by Weir, who never loses sight of his characters' humanity. And the film is also about much more than war; it's also about exploring a distant land and seeing wondrous sights. There are nice moments of humor to balance out the film's serious themes of military discipline, ethics and tactics. Overall, M&C is a rousing adventure story, told with heart. As a Navy veteran myself, I'd like to thank and commend all involved with this film.
Rating:
Summary: Crowe At Sea
Review: Master & Commander - The Far Side Of The World is yet another triumphant film for Russell Crowe. Mr. Crowe has the rare ability to mix action-adventure films with compelling character studies. The special effects in the film are outstanding. The battle sequences are intense, but the acting is superb. Mr. Crowe is inspiring in his role a Capt. Lucky Jack Aubrey. One scene in particular in which he brings a book to one of his young officers who lost an arm in battle is truly outstanding. Trying to show strength and compassion as the boy's commander, he is moved by the boy's acceptance of his fate and is almost brought to tears. Mr. Crowe may well be the best actor in movies today and Master & Commander only adds to his growing list of impressive performance.
Rating:
Summary: Beautifully filmed, could've been shorter, buy for extras
Review: I thought the movie was beautifuly filmed- amazingly detailed,but I think needed something more. I found the pacing to be very draggy at times, some segments could've been trimmed to speed it up a bit (the 20 min. of deleted footage on the extras might have helped the movie out by adding more interest?)
It might not sound like it but I do like Master And Commander and I'm thinking about buying my own copy.I'll be getting the 2 disc widescreen special edition for all of the extra's it contains because they sound really good, and will make it even more worth owning for not a lot more money.
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