Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003)

Good movie, but best of all time? Hardly . . .

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

You get Russell Crowe so we are off to a good start in this movie that depicts life at sea most excellently. Real absorbing drama with a good story to tell awaits the viewer so look forward to this movie treat. In the movie Mutiny on the Bounty, it points out that while England and her Navy is run on laws its the Captain that gives it heart and justice. Captain Bly did not Master and command this but Captain Aubrey (Crowe) in this movie does a masterful job of encouraging, edifying and leading his crew making their hearts one and that is why the story works on the screen and in real life. It is better to get love and devotion willingly and with a gladness than to take it. There is a difference. The crew even sing songs about the Captain and nick-name him Lucky jack. That's stuff you have to earn. Ahoy then, starboard bow and ....

What you have here is Crowe still thinking that he's the greatest actor that ever lived.That all takes away the fun of a movie that had the potential to be a high seas epic like, say, Captain Blood.Peter Weir lets Crowe go crazy and you can almost taste the ego dripping out of the pours of every seen, so much so that he doesn't allow Paul Bettany to shine and he's a good actor in his own right, as is James D'Arcy and again, Crowe seems to want to hog all the acting glory there too.Honestly, its hard to sit down and watch a man try to upstage everyone in every scene, especially when they are actors that could hold their own against Crowe...if Crowe allowed that to happen.So, you get to sit back and watch ego and that gets boring.It's a shame, the script and directing were there, it could have been a great film if we didn't just see ego shine.

Read More: http://basementbanter.com/530-2/Have you ever wondered what would happen if you gave Maximus from Gladiator a gun, a cannon and a frigate? Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World answers that question in glorious, bloody fashion. Master and Commander is an epic naval Napoleonic war movie where Britain and France fought for control of the seas. With maybe the most badass character ever put to screen in Russel Crowe's Captain 'Lucky' Jack Aubrey, and more epic shots than any movie out there, I cannot praise this movie enough. Showcasing more charisma, machismo, and intelligence than any other of his roles; other than maybe Maximus, Crowe becomes the bold and cunning naval captain of the HMS Surprise. Captain Aubrey goes on a daring mission to the far side of the world, chasing a French Ship.Featuring a fantastic cast with several people you sort of recognize like Vision, from the Avengers movies, either Mary or Pippin I can never tell them apart, and some bloke from Agent Carter. Crowe and Paul Bettany (Vision) have excellent chemistry together as they play best friends and trusted confidants. Bettany shines as Dr. Maturin, the surgeon and head doctor on the ship. Dr. Maturin has little nautical experience, so most of the many laughs of the film come from him. His dead pan delivery expressing his confusion about what is going on with the ship creates much needed comedic relief. The rest of the cast are mostly unprofessional actors who have experience on the sea, making the movie feel all the more authentic as you travel back in history to a time of adventure.After his ship is nearly destroyed Captain Jack Aubrey pursues the French ship, The Acheron. It is a new breed of ship that the British have not seen before. The crew of the Surprise go south, around South America and back north towards the Galapagos Islands. The journey pushes Jack Aubrey, and his crew, to their physical and mental limits, testing his leadership and skills as a Captain. From the beginning to the end there is action a plenty, cannons blowing peoples arms off, excellent sword fights, clever problem solving, a man doing surgery on himself (fucking insane), and the best ship to ship combat ever put to film.As will soon become evident, many, many of the movies I love came from my Father making me watch them, this was one of the first ones he made me watch. I watched this when I was 12, and I immediately fell in love with the ocean, and the time period. This movie perfectly blends the swashbuckling adventures of an Indiana Jones or Pirates of the Caribbean movie with the somber and serious take on war and its hardships from Saving Private Ryan or The Hurt Locker.The movie flows between awesome badassery, somber slow moments, and back to action. You will care about all the characters and wince every time someone gets hurt. Every shot that Crowe is in, he improves through his amazing, and complicated performance. All in one he is a bad ass soldier, loving father figure, caring best friend, trying musician, and stern leader. I cannot heap enough praise on him. This is one of my top 20 favorite movies of all time, and I could watch it again and again. I highly recommend this movie, and encourage you to check out other movies by the great Peter Weir. This movie does not get enough attention and while it did get many Oscar nominations, not enough people saw it. I implore you to go see it, all things considered I can almost guarantee you will enjoy it.

It is a travesty that this film isn't at least 8 stars on IMDb. Master and Commander is an incredible adventure story and arguably the most beautiful movie filmed in the first decade of the 21st century.The cinematography is beyond exceptional and the score is simply inspired. This is hands down the best movie every made without a single female actress (barring a 3 second scene off the coast of Brazil).Obviously the novels provide more backstory and much more nautical detail (so much to the point of being tedious) but the film approaches the tale from a completely different perspective. This is a work of art. This is what CGI should be used for in modern films.