Rating: 
Summary: A Commanding Masterpiece
Review: This has to be the best sea-faring movie ever put on film. The special effects are completely breathtaking, and the story follows as closely to the book as I believe is possible. The warmth Captain Aubrey feels for his crew is made very real by Russell Crowe. I believe this to be his best performance yet. The crew of children are portrayed as they should be, by children. Their fears and trials are shown, as are the superstitions and fears of the older crew members. Nautical terms are used without apology. If you don't know what they are referring to, get a dictionary. You won't find them dumbing down for the lubbers who have never become learned in the ways of early seamen, or with British Naval history. It is very authentic, and I enjoyed every minute of it.
Rating:
Summary: The complexity to Weir's seafaring tale is of great depth...
Review: The year is 1805 and the British are in war with Napoleon, who rules over France and most of Europe. This war is not only fought on land as what separates England and Europe is the English Channel. There is also wealth and other items that can be retrieved from different continents around the world that could help each nation in the war. In the middle of the war the HMS Surprise, a British frigate, whose captain, Jack Aubrey (Russell Crowe), has been ordered to seek and destroy the French ship Acheron. The story surrounds the quest of seeking to destroy this French vessel, which becomes a great adventure where Weir involves the audience by displaying all the different layers of crew members on the HMS Surprise. Nonetheless, the story focuses on two characters, Captain Jack Aubrey and the ship surgeon Dr. Stephen Maturin (Paul Bettany).Jack Aubrey is a resolute, yet understanding man who has served on the HMS Surprise ever since he was a early teenager. Through years of experience Jack has learned to rely on his resourceful mind instead of taught naval strategy, which has kept the HMS Surprise afloat for many years. Dr. Stephen Maturin is a freethinking scientist that has an infinite curiosity to learn new information or to make new discoveries. These two men, also friends, contrast each other as they have different notions, which conflict with their interests. There is one scene where Dr. Maturin studies the life and the complexity of life as the audience can hear Captain Aubrey's voice echoing in the background while laughing and chatting about memories of war. This scene manage to display an analogy as it suggests the difficulty through which life is accomplished, and simultaneously, how easy one could destroy life. This analogy serves is great example of how these two men complement each other and create an harmonious atmosphere on board a ship in war time. Master and Commander is an engaging film on many levels as Peter Weir presents the composition of the crew through several sub plots that involve several different themes in a male dominated environment. These themes provide much food for thought as they open many new doors. The complexity to Weir's seafaring tale is of great depth as it portrays both a swashbuckling adventure and a philosophical dialogue, which any audience will enjoy on either a visual or cerebral level. Lastly, the cast performs superbly and is supported by marvelous cinematography, which is blended with masterful directing. This leaves the audience with a brilliant cinematic experience that has several lessons, which can be both interesting and educational for many generations.
Rating: 
Summary: Hear ye, Hear ye
Review: The synopsis provides the reader with a complete overview, skipping nothing. It's a movie about another time, a sanitized version yes. Sanitized? Sure, there have been some recent war movies which depict war as it is...ugly, unmerciless, bloody hell. Doesn't one suppose that 17th century maritime ventures were rather grim? This movie doesn't reflect that. It's a romanticized version of life at sea. Life at sea in the 17th century meant LIFE at sea, impressed sailors, brutal conditions, foul bilges and water... none of which is depicted here. But it does a pretty good job of taking the viewer off into deepwater, and shows its self to be a pretty acurate rendition of the book. The ending was neat... leaving the viewer with a thirst for the next chapter. Why a 4, for the craftsmanship that went into the making of the piece.
Rating:
Summary: Masterful adventure...
Review: Great DVD with lots of indepth bonus features. For someone who loves the movie there are hours and hours of additional behind the scenes featurettes to explain how it all came about. Unlike some bonus features you get a real appreciation for what it took - start to finish - to create a real adventure on the ocean. As a movie this is very good compared to most recent attempts to portray heroism. Crowe is perfect as Capt. Jack. As a fan of the Patrick O'Brian books that inspired this movie I was impressed with the overall production and script of this movie. In fact, this movie is in many ways better than the books, which were a bit overrun with an abundance of naturalistic descriptions that often slowed down the plotline to the point of boredom. The very act of trying to translate the books to the screen seems to have neccesitated the deletion of the naturalistic elements in favor of keeping the story moving. Kudos to the creators and actors of this one for a very enjoyable experience.
Rating:
Summary: "THIS SHIP IS OUR HOME. THIS SHIP IS ENGLAND."
Review: "Master and Commander - The Far Side of the World" is one of the finest naval films ever made. The battle sequences are outstanding, the visual effects exceptional (You could never tell where they used CG and model effects), and the acting top-notch. Russel Crowe delivers a powerful performance as Captain "Lucky" Jack Aubrey, and is given a strong supporting cast that includes Paul Bettany ("A Beautiful Mind") and Billy Boyd ("The Lord of the Rings" Trilogy). The single-disc DVD offers few extras, but the film is given great picture and sound. Whether you're buying the two-disc set, or the single disc edition, "Master and Commander" is a movie not to be missed!
Movie/DVD Grade: A+
Rating:
Summary: breathtaking, high seas adventure
Review: I love historical fiction such as Bernard Cornwell and Patrick O'Brien. Shame not more of it is published. So when this was turned into a movie I was thrilled and had trepidations. Would they do it well? They loving paid homage to O'Brien's works. This film works with super performances, intense action sequences, talented acting, but it also shines in the smaller touches of humanity - good and bad. Brilliant work! Hope it paves the road for more like it.
Rating:
Summary: Eight Bells and all is well
Review: Sailing movies of the war genre don't appeal to all people usually. However; I would be surprised if the people that enjoyed "Pirates of the Caribbean" did not like this movie as well. No doubt fans of the "Hornblower" DVD sets will like this movie. Any fans of classics like "Damn the Defiant" with Alec Guinness should find it entertaining. Russell Crowe does a fine job of portraying the captain of a British ship in search of the French enemy. His enemy is a worthy quarry and must be tracked to the ends of the Earth. Even when you think the movie is concluded you find it is not. The acting is excellent and they did a fine job of casting. The real treat is the photography and sets. The level of detail is phenomenal. Rarely have I seen such attention to what helps to make a great seafaring movie, a great ship set. The ambiance of sea life is so well preserved you will think you are smelling the sea breeze and feel the salty spray across your face. That or you will feel cramped and smell the sweat and powder below decks as they engage the enemy. The DVDs included in this are first quality and the picture and sound is excellent. It includes numerous extras you can find listed under the details above. All in all this movie was masterfully done.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Movie for Guys With No Attention-Deficit-Disorder
Review: This is a very good movie for guys; can't imagine too many women enjoying this movie, but if you're out there - my hats off to you! If you're a child that has to be constantly entertained by fast-moving stories and special effects, maybe you should get Disney's "Aladdin". For those of us who are able to appreciate what life may have been like a few hundred years ago on a war ship, this movie delivers. As someone else stated, this movie succeeds at most by showing us war-life in this time era. It has some intense moments and some fun battle scenes, but the heart of the story lies with everyone's interaction with each other. Most of the acting is decent, but Russell Crowe's acting is somewhat dampered in this movie. Still, it delivers a very good story for men who love war movies.
Rating:
Summary: Shiver me timbers, this is a good show!
Review: I don't know Russell Crowe personally, but I know his work, and I'm not sure the man would appear in a bad movie. This one is a good one. Peter Weir has collected all his available resources - a good story, CGI, other special effects, skilled cinematographers and set designers and a great cast and crew to put us to sea with a mighty hearty seagoin' adventure. Crowe's "Lucky" Jack Aubrey is intelligent and seasoned, and clearly cares about his men individually as well as the ship and crew as a whole. In his character we get to see the weight of momentous decisions he must make - sacrificing the life of an overboard sailor to save the entire ship, as well as bringing his overgunned and outmanned HMS Surprise right up to the speedy French Acheron and letting his crew have at it, knowing that many lives on both sides will be lost. We get to see that the Captain is not always right, and he occasionally has to accept the consequences of his wrong actions or decisions. But we also get to see that often effective leadership means taking decisive action and implementing an imperfect plan because a team that is committed to a wrong plan will accomplish more than a crew paralyzed because leadership has come up with no plan at all. There is no love story artificially superimposed upon this rousing good tale, and the performances are fine and memorable. I recommend this one highly for anyone looking for an intelligent action adventure.
Rating: 
Summary: Russell Crowe Meets Show Boat
Review: I purchased this DVD based on all of the hype surrounding the movie and of course Russell Crowe acting in a period piece. After watching this movie I wish I would have saved the purchase for a box of popcorn and a matinee discount. Even Russell Crowe didn't pull in this movie for me despite being a great actor. He is convincing as Captain Aubrey but instead of acting and emoting he does more posing than anything else. Maybe it's because the movie itself had absolutely no storyline to connect the viewers to the individual characters. The sea is beautiful, the Galapagos adventure amazing, the period pieces and ship detail as accurate as I could imagine, but there just is no plot. Two boats travel about a restless ocean trying to anniliate one another over political control, so what! I even rooted for the French in the end because their Captain at least attempted to help an injured Brit while Russell Crowe was busy posing and demanding the loudness of cannons for interest. I was ready to de-board and take in a documentary on the Galapagos Islands, the only really interesting aspect of this film.
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