Rating: 
Summary: Action, adventure, and great characters. I loved it!
Review: The setting is aboard a British ship in 1805. And every modern advanced filming technique as been used with perfection to bring it all to life. It made the experience not just one of merely watching a film. I felt I was actually on that ship during the storms and the battles and the quiet times when there was no wind. I got to know each of the characters and watched their complex personalities interact and develop in this small wooden world which was their life and their livelihood.Russell Crowe is the captain of the HMS Surprise. He rules his ship with a tough minded decisiveness that earns him respect from his men. Off the coast of Brazil, they are suddenly attacked by a French ship. They manage to get away but know they will be attacked again. Russell Crowe is determined to win -- so determined in fact that it made me think of Moby Dick and Captain Ahab's quest for the great white whale. Cast in an equally important role is Paul Bettany. He is the ship's doctor and we get to see him perform some medical marvels for his time. Some of these scenes made me wince, especially one scene where he amputates the arm of young Max Pirkis, a 13-year old midshipman who immediately won my heart, especially as he manages to not only continue to perform his shipboard duties with one arm, he also absorbs the doctor's true passion for biology, and draws replicas of new plants and insects that they discover during their travels. There is more to this film that the technically masterful battles and storms. There is also an unusually amount of intense detail of daily life on the ship as well as a great deal of character development. The Captain and the doctor have a deep friendship, and even play duets on a violin and cello. They are constantly engaged in philosophical discussions and there is often tension between them. The doctor wants to spend time on the Galapagos Islands, studying the biological diversity of the terrain. The captain, however, is obsessed with fighting the French ship. How this all plays out shows each man's respect for each other. We also get to meet a whole cast of sailors on the ship and there are several interesting subplots which add reality to the film. I felt I was right there with them, sharing their life at sea. Perhaps this was because I saw the film on a big screen in a theater. But I suspect I'd love it just as much on a DVD and would probably watch all the special features about the challenge of filming it. As far as I'm concerned this film has it all -- action, adventure, personal conflicts, questions of integrity and hard choices that have to be made. Don't miss it.
Rating: 
Summary: A few boring moments but otherwise a good movie.
Review: Call me crazy but it seems as if the only thing this movie was trying to do was show us how life was in that age. There's no main focus of the movie really. The movie begins with a battle and ends with a battle. In between is just a movie that shows us how life was then. I'll hand it to Russell Crowe, he did a stunning job in this movie and should be given high honors for his performance. Crowe certainly played a great character in this film. But as I said, there was a battle at the beginning and a battle at the end. They spend a lot of time looking for their enemy (who's faces we don't see until the end of the movie, by the way). The movie had fantastic music as well and the characters were very well developed in their roles which made for a very enjoyable experience. Overall the movie isn't so bad. There are points where it got boring though such as seeing them drift around for a while and then some dialog was thrown in so that it wasn't the ONLY thing we saw. Overall a great movie, though I'd have liked to see more of the enemy ship and the enemy themselves.
Rating:
Summary: EXCELLENT!!!!
Review: THE MOVIE IS AN EXCELLENT CONDENSED VERSION OF THE BOOK
Rating:
Summary: Great Film on Port Side!
Review: Peter Weir's "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World" captures the audience into a seafaring adventure set in the Napoleanic Wars with great accuracy, and strong acting Russel Crowe plays Capt. Jack Aubrey who commands the HMS Surprise to patrol the South Atlantic in search of the Acheron, an elusive French warship that is larger, faster, and has more cannon decks. Russell Crowe's bold command is often challenged by his friend and ship's surgeon played by Paul Bettany. The film is mostly accurate as to details on sailing vessels of the 19th century as well as the types of tasks sailors had to undertake. The film shows that sailors were not only hoisting sails on ships but that each ship had specialists on board to tend to various matters: carpenters, blacksmiths, tailors, cooks, soldiers, etc. The film also accurately captures what tactics and battle conditions would have been like during that period of time. The only inaccuracy is where one ship is in pursuit of the other and the ship in front is blowing smoke: if one pays attention, one will see the smoke blowing back against the wind and towards the ship in pursuit. This presents a physical impossibility as the smoke would have to be blowing in the same direction as the wind and not against it. Despite some technical inaccuracies, the film is exquisite in every way. The film is has good character development and the plot is well paced; I didn't feel the time pass. The film is rated PG-13 but the violence is not so light as to make it childish. I strongly recommend seeing this movie on the big screen.
Rating:
Summary: A fascinating, informative, & moving film
Review: "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World" gives its audience insight into the mysterious world of sailing. We all know about pirates, sea battles, and swash-buckling, but do we really know about the men behind it all? No. Never before have we been given such a privileged look into the lives and hearts of those brave men at sea. Peter Weir's film follows the British naval ship HMS Surprise and her crew during the Napoleonic Wars as they are relentlessly pursued by the far superior French ship, the Acheron. Russell Crowe, one of the finest actors to come along in the past decade, plays Captain Jack Aubrey. Aubrey is a man who demands perfection and respect from his crew, yet is enormously loved and respected by all of them. It is here that "Master and Commander" finds its strength, in the comradery of men. The naval battle sequences are grand and epic, the dialogue witty, the cast pitch-perfect, the sets and costumes flawless, and the score heart-pounding. Yet it all boils down to the friendships and bonds between the men. That is the true heart of "Master and Commander". This is a fascinating and informative film as well as a supremely moving one.
Rating:
Summary: Crowe Masters
Review: Over the years, there have been many films set on board sailing vessels. None, however, catch the mood of ship board life as well as "Master and Commander". I would expect this film to rate well in the forthcoming Oscars. Crowe's role is absolutely dominant. He is truly the master and commander in this seafaring epic. I have been told that the original book involved an American ship as the "baddies" but, to sell the story to the US market, a French ship was put in its place. This has no impact on the overall film which is quite awe inspiring. Peter Weir's direction of the film is magnificent. The on board scenes with the rigging creaking and the ship rolling are totally believable. There is also a "cameo role" for the Galapagos Islands where the ship's doctor moves to within a whisker of scooping Darwin. I recommend this film to all ages and sexes. It is seemingly an all boys story that manages to appeal to everyone.
Rating:
Summary: I was there!With a movie so convincing you will think so too
Review: Never has a naval movie impressed me so much with accuracy, integrity, and a strong supporting cast. A movie that thrust into action and sets sail to impress all ages, genres, and critics alike.
Rating:
Summary: Thrilling Sail to The Far Side of the World
Review: In the year when the LOTR's "Return of the King" understandably reigned the big epic film productions, "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World" came as a pleasant surprise. In fact, it's not that surprising that the topic of naval battles in Napoleonic times (around 1805) got such a good treatment in the hands of down-under-born Peter Weir ("Truman Show", "Fearless", "Gallipoli", "The Year of Living Dangerously"). Weir's compatriot Russell Crowe is again very comfortable in a highly masculine role of Captain Jack Aubrey, an ambitious, skilled mariner who considers it the highest honour to pursue, to fight with and to beat the better-equipped French ship Acheron. The movie's battle scenes abound with realistic special effects, with the storm scene in the film's second half-hour being certainly among the best cinematic feats of its kind. But equally -- if not even more -- impressive are intimate portraits of Aubrey and ship surgeon Stephen Maturin (played exquisitely by relative newcomer Paul Bettany), who, although a good friend, is an antagonist character to Aubrey's, displaying nature-loving spirit and at times 'democratically' opposing Aubrey's leadership. Another endearing character is the young Lord Blackeney (Max Pirkis), who grows in both firsthand battlefield experience and touring Galapagos Islands to become either another great ship commander, or another scientist. Collective spirit, religiousness and patriotism of the English mariners add colour to the film and provide excellent food for thought for viewers. Occassional humour, unobtrusive yet tasteful music score and not an overdose of violence (although there is a fair share of it) makes this also a decent film for women. At times a bit slow, but overall a very enjoyable film, sporting beautiful cinematography and lessons in battle navigation, "Master and Commander" may in the future rank among the classics and has certainly enriched Weir's directorial canon already.
Rating:
Summary: Russell is superb as always
Review: What a fantastic movie. Russell is superb, as always. The movie itself is great. A wonderful storyline with all the emotions. I can't wait for it to come out on DVD and join my library of Rusell movies.
Rating:
Summary: "This ship is England."
Review: Russell Crowe is magnificent as "Lucky Jack" Aubrey, captain of the HMS Surprise. Aubrey and his crew are hoping to intercept and destroy Acheron, a powerful and speedy French warship. The year is 1805, and the French are at war with the British. Capturing Acheron would give the British a much-needed naval victory against Napoleon. However, Aubrey and his crew soon discover that Acheron's captain is an extremely clever tactician and a formidable opponent. After a crippling battle, Aubrey must decide whether to lick his wounds and head for home or continue his pursuit of Acheron. Peter Weir gets high praise for his meticulous direction of "Master of Commander." The movie looks authentic down to the smallest detail. Weir shows us how crewmen behaved while living for months on board a warship. Scenes of tempestuous storms, raging battles, wounded men screaming in agony, and young boys trying to act as courageous as their adult heroes are unforgettable. The cinematography by Russell Boyd and Sandy Sissell is breathtaking. Russell Crowe completely inhabits the body and soul of Jack Aubrey, who at times acts like a man possessed. His pride and strong sense of duty sometimes blind him to reality. Yet, Aubrey is also a man of principle, compassion, and deep feeling, who cares very much about the men under his command. Paul Bettany is Crowe's counterpart as the intellectual, sensitive, and outspoken Dr. Stephen Maturin, the ship's talented surgeon and a gifted naturalist. On quiet evenings, Stephen plays classical music with his old friend, Captain Aubrey, but the two men eventually clash over Aubrey's obsession with completing his mission successfully. Although "Master and Commander" takes place in the nineteenth century, its themes are relevant to the times in which we live. Weir raises very interesting questions about the nature of patriotism and leadership. Crowe, in a gritty and sharply delineated performance, demonstrates the agony of making decisions that will inevitably lead to a loss of life. "Master and Commander" is a swashbuckling movie that one rarely sees these days, and it is also a thoughtful look at courage, determination, love of country, and humanity. It is a wonderful movie that is one of the best of 2003.
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