Rating: 
Summary: captures the feel of the o'brian series well
Review: what an enjoyable movie. i came to this movie very hesitantly. my wife was (is) an avid o'brian fan, but i could never get into the books. she's read them all, but i struggled to even get into the first one. when the movie came out, though, i took her to it knowing that i would be quite bored but making my wife happy (always a good thing). instead, i was completely enthralled. the movie captures the feel of what life must have been like on a tiny boat in the middle of a vast ocean. the need for discipline, the importance of authority come through so well because that was what held the shipboard society together. it was little things that really grabbed me: the men eating on wooden plates, for example. the unique way of saluting (but the use of either hand to salute was acceptable). i think this movie captures the feel of that life so well. some reviewers have griped about the relative lack of plot, and the galapagos subplot. to me, that seems to be more an effort to keep the spirit of the books alive in the movie. the stephen/jack relationship is very dynamic because they are friends but jack is ostensibly stephen's superior. if jack makes exceptions for stephen, he would be violating the chain of authority that holds their ship together. and yet, stephen's sense of honor is betrayed. a fascinating thing to me. so, after watching it in the theater, i did read the first book, and enjoyed it very much. the movie helped to put the books in context and i learned how to capture the feel of what o'brian is trying to convey. i rarely buy dvd's, but this was a wonderful exception. you simply cannot catch everything that goes on by watching it only once. and i've found the extras in this set to be a wonderful addition to my understanding. i think the second book is going to be even better after watching this dvd. i can't wait. i don't know if sequels are planned, but i sincerely hope so. i want more movies like this.
Rating: 
Summary: Adventure on the high seas
Review: This wonderfully cast and directed film stars Russell Crowe as the Captain of a British warship during the Napoleaonic wars of the early 1800s. A great film for history buffs who would like to learn alot more about warships in Nelson's British Navy. Great acting and special effects, combined with great cinematography make this film a treat to watch. The battle scenes between wooden ships gets your adrenaline pumping and the musical score adds to the excitement. Buy this film today!!!
Rating:
Summary: Best Sea picture ever made
Review: Allot of people did not like this film because they said it was slow. I am not sure what movie they watched. Master and Commander is a wonderful sea picture and a great adventure. This is the kind of film I always wanted to see made of Patrick O'brian's great novels.
Peter Weir is a wonderful story teller and transports us back to navy life in 1805 aboard the HMS Surprise off the coast of South America. The sights sounds, and action of a navel battle of this era is captured like no other film ever has but Weir does not allow it to eclipse the human story of friendship, honor, trust and loyalty and allows us the feel what life on board a man o war was trully like.
Russell Crowe is excellent as Captain Lucky Jack Aubrey and Paul Betteny is equal to the task as Dr Maturin. Both ahve captured essence of O'brians characters and along with and excellent supporting cast, wonderful effects and a great story, Master and Commander the Fare Side of the World is not only one of the best pictures made last year but in my opinion the best picture of its kind ever made. A 5 star, A+ film that will stand the test of time.
Rating: 
Summary: A masterful package, missing the core...
Review: I came to M&C as a die-hard O'Brian fan - all 20 books, multiple audio editions, etc. - very excited to see the story on-screen, but wondering how Weir could do them justice. In contrast to two recent favorite blockbuster-books-to-movies, Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter, both of which are filled with action and visual imagery, the Aubrey-Maturin books are mostly interior: Aubrey muses on the wind, weather, tide, or enemy strategy, and Maturin on the politics of Catalonia, the classification of birds, or the psychology of seamen - all with a wealth of impressively-researched detail, and in a style close to Jane Austen. The screenwriters managed to render as much of the story in action as possible, a change really required by the medium, and to do so handsomely.
The balance of characters, however, was a catastrophe. The books are called "the Aubrey-Maturin series" because they revolve around the double-star of these two characters, whose strengths and failings interlock like yin and yang. Maturin is, if anything, the more fully-realized, being closer to the author's own personality and voice. In reshaping the story as a (single) star vehicle for Russell Crowe, Aubrey's more humanizing foibles were cast adrift. For example, in the book, Aubrey shares the anecdote of Nelson asking him to "pass the salt" with blatant hero-worship untouched by any trace of irony; in the film, he is sardonic & self-mocking, "in on the joke" in a way that naturally belongs to Maturin, not himself.
The problem is compounded by the unfortunate casting of Paul Bettany as Maturin. He is a fine actor, but far too suave, handsome, and socially poised for the role, which wants a strong personality and an actor willing to be unattractive (...). The fact that Crowe and Bettany got along well on an earlier project may have made for smoother filming, but a clash of more-equally-sized personalities might have made a stronger movie.
Rating:
Summary: Lost Potential
Review: The best that can be said of this movie is that the special effects, realistic sea battles, and cinematography are fantastic. They really make the movie. Unfortunately, the story itself is rather plodding and does /not/ do Patrick O'Brain's novel justice. The plot is essentially a cat and mouse game between Captain Aubrey (British) and a French ship in 1805. There are subplots-such as leadership, bonding of the crew, superstition, and the brilliant seamanship of the Captain. The ship's doctor is a very interesting character-both caring, scientific minded, but aboard a warship. Unfortunately, none of these aspects are ever explored in enough depth to give take the movie to the next level. There was a lot of potential for storytelling squandered. Overall, I would rate the movie a 6 out of 10.
Rating:
Summary: Almost an epic, but not quite.
Review: I didn't read the novels I must confess, but I'm sure this movie could have been much more. But it was for the $$$ & mass consumption. However good Russell Crowe is, & he was great, by the way, he doesn't come cheap.
That said, it is a very good, rather uncomplicatted movie. Lots of little bits on life at sea with the Royal Navy in 1805. Aside from the obvious conflict with the the French ship, & the pursuit of it, Capt. Jack has few problems. There is none of the passion of the Bounty or Capt. Ahab chasing Moby Dick.
He has a row with his best friend & ship's surgeon/ scientist. It provides a sub-plot, that is mended later. The ship's company grumbles about a lashing, a lack of water & the ship being "in irons" for days. But those last two are hardly Capt. Jack's fault. At least there was plently of rum & the crew stayed loyal. Capt. Jack was consistent throughout the movie. He was decent, urbane his crew loved & admired him & that didn't change. Plus he had some amusing stories about his two encounters with Lord Nelson, Britain's greatest super-hero of the day. The climatic sea battle, & the special effects through-out were some of the best ever. The movie was over too soon & I'd like to see a sequel. Even a prequel would be nice.
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely Stuning!!
Review: All I can say is wow! After seeing this movie not only did I come away thinking," what a great film this was!" but also that i had learned something! This movie teaches you so much about what it would have been like living on a ship, it would not have been pleasent! This film also has awesome action scenes, and great acting(Paul Bettany should have been nominated for an academy award)! Highly recommended! You're missing out if you don't rent it,NOW!
PG-13(intense battle scenes and related images, brief language)
Caution: This movie is way to violent and gory for young children
Rating:
Summary: Entertaining tale about Men at war on the sea
Review: (...) Russell Crowe does a solid job as the British captain ordered to hunt down a French ship. His crew includes some interesting characters, but the main focus is on how the captain handles the multitude of situations he faces. For example, at one point the captain must decide between saving one of his crew vs. endangering the rest of them in the rescue attempt. Pretty heavy stuff. I rather enjoyed this leadership aspect of the film because it forces the viewer to think through "what would I do in that situation". One thing I did not like was the Darwin like sub-plot that involves the ship's doctor and his desire to explore the Galapogos islands. Some might find this interesting stuff, but I thought it was rather distracting and took away from the momentum during the second half of the film. I am a big fan of military history, but usually prefer ground combat to naval engagements. Having said that, Master and Commander is very entertaining, and gives what I consider to be an accurate portrayal of naval warfare in the early 1800s. Most of the sailor's time is spent in mundane tasks (like daily maintenance of the vessel), with occasions of great excitement during combat engagements. The director does a great job with the fighting scenes. He captures the chaos involved that leaders faced, and the courage required of the crew to gain victory. I recommend this film to anyone interested in how naval combat was fought during this time period. If you are a Russell Crowe fan, you will also enjoy it, although it is not his best.
Rating:
Summary: Awesome, inspiring, informative, and entertaining
Review: What storytelling -- this film is superby done! The tale of Jack Aubrey and his crew taking the HMS Surprise to the far side of the world to do battle with a superior French ship is the framework for a fascinating story of how life was back than. The details, and the human dramas, had me riveted. We see how the captain leads his men, some of whom are very brave children, through an incredible journey around Cape Horn and to the Galapagos. A trip of this sort is challenging enough for a sailor of today -- imagine undertaking it when you had no high-tech equipment to rely upon, but rather intelligence, strategy, a lot of hard work, and luck. The hardships the men endure, the bravery they display, and the joy they experience as part of their rare adventure, make for a fascinating story.
Rating:
Summary: Falls short and too influenced by The Bounty
Review: The DVD package of this two-disc set is extremely well done on the outside and a nice map included in the package for eventual framing is a nice touch. But the DVD special features aren't all that special when considering the cost of this "special" edition. Sure, you've got lots of documentaries, but let's face it, you've got that to choose from on most single-disc DVD sets these days if they're putting any kind of marketing into special features. Also, stunningly, I looked and checked and for some reason I guess I assumed there'd be some sort of actor's or director's commentary for this film. NOPE! This DVD package is highly overpriced and somewhat disappointing, akin to the film which I did not see in the theaters. There are some sweeping scenes and beautiful imagery, but some of the visual concepts were ripped right off from the 1984 epic, The Bounty, starring Mel Gibson and Anthony Hopkins (still, probably the greatest nautical film ever shot, in my opinion). Master and Commander has some strengths but this could be one of the most overrated films in a long time. The crew seems too happy, even after getting their butts spanked by the frogs and Lucky Jack is just too jovial for the most part. This is one of Russel Crowe's weaker efforts and he seems to be too impressed with himself on screen with this work. I'd have given this a two and a half star rating if I could have figured out how to do the half-star thing. Master and Commander is to The Bounty what U-571 is to Das Boot. Nice try, but it's just not as good as the originals they were trying to copy, although Master and Commander gives us some excellent glimpses into naval cannon warfare, clearly it's greatest accomplishment in this film.
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