“Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World” (20th Century Fox)
Russell Crowe takes to the high seas in the rousing adventure “Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World.” This film is full of the drama of the sea with battles galore and a realistic look at life aboardship. Set in 1805 the movie chronicles the adventures of the British ship, the HMS Surprise, as it chases a French ship during the Napoleonic Wars.
Based on the popular series of books by Patrick O’Brien, “M&C” tells the story of Captain Jack Aubrey and his loyal crew of sailors. He and his men are sailing off the coast of Brazil when they are attacked by a French ship. Since his ship and some of his men are injured, Aubrey retreats to fight another day.
The rest of the movie deals with various incidents on board the “Surprise” as well as a couple of more battles between the two ships. The events that are related are episodic and strangely non-connected. It is as if the makers of the movie took segments from the books by O’Brien but didn’t pick up the connecting storyline.
Aubrey (Crowe) and the ship’s doctor (Paul Bettany) are the only two characters who are outstanding. The rest of the cast blends together as one big crew on the ship. No one else is terribly outstanding, and no one else is terribly interesting. The stories told are fairly entertaining but only in passing.
The best parts of the movie are the special effects. The battle sequences are stunning. The roar of the cannons and the clashing of swords make for battle horrors that heretofore have only been imagined. In this film people get cut, mutilated, and die in sometimes graphic detail.
The film is rated PG-13 for this violence and some profanity.
Crowe is charismatic as Jack and he and Bettany have any easy and relaxed camaraderie between them. Crowe is in just about every scene so it is good that he is as charming as he is.
“M&C” has an epic look about it but it is not an epic film. It is a good one, with solid performances and solid adventures being shown. Still whatever it takes to move a film to that higher level is missing here. There is a lot of sound and fury that ends up not signifying as much as it should.
You will have a rousing time with “Master and Commander” but once you have come back to shore from your two hour adventure you will realize it isn’t a film of much impact. Good but not great; adventurous but not admirable.
I scored “Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World” a wave swept 6 out of 10.
