Rating: 
Summary: Best film of its kind.
Review: Master and Commander really is the best of its kind. People say its boring but the movie really does have a sence of exploration which is just as important then the battle sequences it has. Great story. Great action, Great music, and Great acting by paul bettany and my faviorite actor Russell Crowe. He truly is one of the best actors in hollywood which makes him perfect to play jack aubrey. His best work is playing historical charcters anyways. Gladiator-oscar, Beatiful mind-should have won oscar.I work at a movie theater so I got to watch it plenty of times. It made me go out and read the rest in the series which if a movie can do that like this or lord of the rings did, then it Has to be a success right? If it wasnt for lotr It would have one alot more gold on oscar night. Cant wait for it to come out on dvd.
Rating: 
Summary: Completely Overrated
Review: 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).
Rating:
Summary: History Brought to Life
Review: I rarely see a big screen movie that makes me feel like I get my money's worth. MASTER AND COMMANDER was a great exception to this rule. I had not read O'Brian's books, but the masterful performance given especially by Crowe and the way Weir pulls his audience into the action made me go out and get the first book. I am now half way through the series of 20, unable to put them down from start to finish. Although the movie is a combination of good parts from the books, the essence of the characters are well preserved and the general flavor of O'Brian's stories are well presented. It would have been a monumental task to tell all the tales of Aubrey & Maturin, something that could only be done justice in words, and not pictures. This movie is a wonderful introduction to the world and works of O'Brian--it is an appetizer to be followed by a wonderful main course of the written tales.
Rating:
Summary: The French Actually put up a fight
Review: Great swashbuckeling movie in the ilk of any Flynn movie you might see. The visuals are fantastic and the rolling of the ocean will almost make you loose your grog. This is also the last time you will ever see the French actually fight in a battle without first surrendering...Two big thumbs up!
Rating: 
Summary: Character before Action
Review: I was particulary surprised, after the movie, that the movie was so focused on the characters before the action. Peter Weir does an excellent job with his firm grip on the men of the ship is the angle of the story that grabs your attention.
Excellent cinematography, a well-written script and terrific performances all-around help Weir in his navagation of this Academy Award nominee (it actually received ten nominations).
Definantly a movie that deserves more than one viewing to truly admire.
Rating: 
Summary: Misrepresents Patrick O'Brian's books
Review: This movie is supposed to be based on Patrick O'Brian's set of 20 books. The book "Far Side of the World" has the British ship pursue an American ship, not a French ship. So, why the switch? In the 20 set collection, most of the naval battles are between America and the British around 1810-1815. The books have very little to do with France. If this was purely a movie made up on the imagination of the people involved then I would say it is pretty good. But, honestly, can we allow the director/producer to distort a writer's work?
Rating: 
Summary: Masterful?
Review: Master and Commander is not bad, it just leaves a lot to be had. Wier successfully creates the nautical world and makes the audience feel like they are aboard the ship, but once we are there, there just isn't enough the see. The movie is primarily built around Russell Crowe's determination to catch and sink a superior ship and the scenes involving this are exciting and entertaining, but the scenes between battle scenes, while well acted by the talented Crowe are slow and, for the most part, uniteresting.
A large subplot is Crowe's friendship to the ship's doctor, an aspiring biologist, but the relationship between Crowe and him does not truly reach the audience: We know that they are best friends, but I never really felt it, and, as a result, I never gained a full appreciation for their struggles. As I said this is not a bad film, but its fixable problems tell me that it could ahve been so much better.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent film, but.....
Review: I agree with every good thing that's been said about this film here by customers, but I have one caveat. If you are a fan of the novels, as I am, you will likely be dissatisfied with the movie, not because it isn't a great film, which it is, but because it does a SEVERE lack of justice to the books. And it's additionally annoying because Peter Weir got the hard stuff right, and the easy stuff wrong. Russell Crowe was as perfect as probably possible for Jack Aubrey, but Paul Bettany was jaw-droppingly, unbelieveably wrong for Stephen Maturin. Because of that, the script also had to be all wrong for Stephen Maturin. Maturin is supposed to be tiny, dark, and ugly--he is half Irish and half Catalan Spanish. He is physically uncoordinated and has a rather sour secretive disposition, with a tendency toward depression. Because of the latter he is a drug addict. But he is a fantastically erudite physician and polyglot, and a very successful spy for the British government. The Patrick O'Brian books are just as much about the spying adventures of Maturin as they are about the sailing adventures of Aubrey, but because Paul Bettany could not possibly be convincing as anything more than a physician who doesn't know much about ships, half of what's good about the books had to be excised. That is unfortunate, because the two characters have their own strengths and weaknesses and complement each other perfectly. Read the books--they are far better. And I guess we'll just have to wait for the BBC to do a series of movies a la Horatio Hornblower before anything like justice gets done to the books on film.
Rating:
Summary: Multi-Dimensional Entertainment
Review: Those who enjoyed the various Horatio Hornblower films (one of which stars Gregory Peck) will especially appreciate this adaptation of material from a series of novels written by Patrick O'Brian. Directed by Peter Weir and starring Russell Crowe as Captain "Lucky" Jack Aubrey, Master and Commander examines life aboard a British warship during the Napoleonic Wars as it encounters and is battered by a French privateer, the Acheron, and then pursues its enemy from the coast of Brazil southward around Cape Horn to The Galapagos Island until the final, inevitable and decisive encounter. The acting is first-rate, beginning with Crowe but including Paul Bettany (who previously appeared with Crowe in A Perfect Mind) as ship's surgeon, Dr. Stephen Maturin, and Max Pirkis as Lord Blakeney, one of several midshipmen aboard H.M.S. Surprise. Weir brilliantly juxtaposes violent battle scenes at sea with quiet, at times tender moments aboard ship. There is also a fascinating sequence during which Dr. Maturin and two youthful companions leave the ship to gather scientific specimens until unexpectedly.... The film was nominated for ten Academy Awards, receiving one (Russell Boyd for cinematography). Given the competition, it probably did not deserve others but suggesting that in no way damns with faint praise. (Praises with faint damnation?) This is a delightful, stirring, and on occasion moving account of a charming and resourceful captain and his loyal crew who, when necessary, summon exceptional courage with style and grace. I was surprised to learn how self-sufficient such ships must be, especially in terms of repairing damage resulting from combat. Because all of the film is set aboard the British warship, I also realized how confining, if not claustrophobic it must have seemed at times to crew members. On occasion, I did have a problem catching some of the dialogue but that may be more indicative of my hearing ability (or loss thereof) than of the quality of the soundtrack. This was an especially entertaining film which I plan to see again soon, joined by a large bowl of hot buttered popcorn and a cold beverage or two.
Rating:
Summary: Masterful and engaging
Review: A friend of mine and I have a tradition of seeing every film that has an Oscar® nomination before the Academy Awards® are aired, so we've been blitzkrieging the cinemas in our area, trying to see them all. I am so glad that "Master and Commander" was nominated, because I'm not sure if I would have otherwise bothered to see it. What a fantastic film! As someone who has had 3-near drowning experiences and who makes it a priority to not only avoid the water, but films involving water where people might drown, I am not much into seafaring films. Nothing about living on a stinky boat for months on end without modern medical care appeals to my interest... but this film had me on the edge of my seat. I was so quickly drawn into this film; it was more than just a story, but truly an experience. I felt as though I was a member of the crew of the HMS Surprise in 1805. The HMS Surprise, under the command of Captain Jack Aubrey (Russell Crowe), is on a mission to intercept the French warship, the "Archeron." The resourceful crew ranges from elderly sea salts probably in their late 60s, to the youngest crewmember who looks to be all of 12 or 13 years old. Their first encounter with the Archeron in heavy fog is quick and deadly. Many crewmen on the Surprise are killed or injured, and the youngest of the crew, Midshipman Blakeney (Max Pirkis), receives a broken arm in the battle, which results in amputation without the luxury of modern medicine or anesthetic. Pirkis's performance is breathtaking. Expect to see this young man many more times in the future. The ship's surgeon, Dr. Stephen Maturin (Paul Bettany - Crowe's co-star from "A Beautiful Mind"), is a loyal, but opinionated friend of Captain Aubrey. He serves as Aubrey's friend, motivator and muse, but he does put their friendship to the test on more than one occasion. While there is blood and violence, the most memorable feeling is one of being overwhelmed and engaged by the experience. The "F-word" was used once, but other than that, there is no real foul language, nudity or suggestive scenes and I believe the PG-13 rating is appropriate. During their first encounter, the Surprise must limp away in dense fog to escape with their lives, and although they hit the Archeron with cannon balls and musket fire, they hardly raise a splinter on the larger, faster, thicker hulled ship. Dr. Maturin claims it is pride, but Aubrey insists that it is duty and loyalty to England that is driving him to engage the Archeron again... a ship that appears to outgun them and outclass them in every way. Aubrey proves that he is a brilliant battle commander and manages to outwit the Archeron captain, who appears to be his equal in brinksmanship and cunning. Their Pacific journey forces them to the coast of South America to trade tools for livestock and foodstuffs... and many of the crew pick up a parrot or a squirrel monkey along the way. The ship is driven south in heavy snow and ice, then north again to a windless, rainless, utterly hot and humid region of the see that drives the men crazy. They turn on a less-than-capable crewmate who does not take the pressure well, as they believe he is the personification of the Biblical Jonah and must be toss overboard to save them from God's wrath. They go the Galapagos Islands to repair damage to their ship from another encounter with the Archeron. There are so many exquisite, incredible things along their journey, it is truly breath taking. Little things that would have been omitted in a lesser film, such as the attention to detail in repairing the ship, including chiseling and patching up the maiden gracing their stern, make this a film worth savoring. It has been a long time since I have felt so "in" a film - I could almost smell the salt air and feel the sea spray on my face. The friend I saw the film with reported feeling the same about this cinematic experience. While seafaring voyages do little to evoke my interest, I was totally engaged in every aspect and moment of this film - less like a voyeur, but rather a crewmember in the shadows, observing and participating. This is how a film should be made. Director Peter Weir is no stranger to filmmaking. He has directed such hits as "The Truman Show," "Dead Poets Society," and "Witness," but this is clearly his masterpiece. If you've been putting off this film for any reason, do not delay. Seeing it on the big screen is preferable - being surrounded by the empty calm sea, or deluged in waves, helps to enhance the experience that much more.
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