 After a sudden attack by a French warship inflicts severe damage upon his ship, Captain "Lucky" Jack Aubrey (Crowe) of the British Navy is torn between duty and friendship as he embarks on a thrilling, high-stakes chase across two oceans to capture the enemy at any cost. Storyline: In April 1805 during the Napoleonic Wars, the H.M.S. Surprise, a British frigate, is under the command of Captain Jack Aubrey. Aubrey and the Surprise's current orders are to track and capture or destroy a French privateer named Acheron. The Acheron is currently in the Atlantic off South America headed toward the Pacific in order to extend Napoleon's reach of the wars. This task will be a difficult one as Aubrey quickly learns in an initial battle with the Acheron that it is a bigger and faster ship than the Surprise, which puts the Surprise at a disadvantage. Aubrey's single-mindedness in this seemingly impossible pursuit puts him at odds with the Surprise's doctor and naturalist, Stephen Maturin, who is also Aubrey's most trusted advisor on board and closest friend. Facing other internal obstacles which have resulted in what they consider a string of bad luck, Aubrey ultimately uses Maturin's scientific exploits to figure out a way to achieve his and the ship's seemingly impossible ... Written by Huggo Reviewer's Note: Reviewed by Greg Maltz, May 9, 2008 -- Since Errol Flynn graced the screen in Captain Blood, the genre of swashbuckling, seafaring films have enjoyed great notariety. Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World is a period piece with modern execution. From the standpoint of the story and cast, Russell Crowe as Captain Jack Aubrey is the ultimate star of Master and Commander. He conveys an authenticity and charisma that few actors currently possess, which allows him to pull off the Aubrey role so authoritatively. But there is an even more impressive star of the film--a star you will not see. Richard King was brought on board by director Peter Weir as "sound designer". His passion and technical expertise in audio engineering make the film a powerhouse cinematic experience, transporting viewers from their seats to a place onboard the British Navy ship, Surprise, off the coast of South America almost 200 years ago. More than any other aspect of the film, the realism and immersive quality of the audio puts the audience in the middle of the action. King won the Academy Award of Merit for Best Sound Editing for his work on Master and Commander. It was very well deserved, and the DTS-HD MA encode on the BD fully pays off King's fantastic sonic achievement. Based on Patrick O'Brian's novels about Aubrey's adventures, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World follows the Surprise, as it battles the Acheron, a superior U.S.-made ship in Napoleon's navy. After a surprise attack by the Acheron during the film's opening scene, in which the British ship takes nearly insurmountable damage and barely slips away in the cover of fog, Captain "Lucky" Jack decides to go after the faster, stronger ship instead of returning to England. At first, the decision seems foolhearty, as the Acheron again surprises Aubrey. This time, he escapes under cover of darkness. But the story is more than a series of chase and battle scenes, entertaining as those prove to be. Several aspects of naval and ship service are explored. Part of the story touches on concepts like religion and science in the prism of 19th century thought. The latter part of the film takes place in the Galápagos Islands where the ship's Irish doctor and naturalist, Stephen Maturin (Paul Bettany) convinces Aubrey to let him explore and collect specimens in a pre-Darwinian subplot. Unfortunately for Maturin, he makes an unexpected discovery that leads him to cut short his tour of the Galápagos. One of his specimens, an insect that looks like a twig, gives Aubrey the idea to disguise the Surprise, leading to the film's climax, an intense battle, featuring an extended sequence of intense hand-to-hand combat. It is worth asking if Master and Commander would have received more attention if it arrived in theaters at a different time than the much more successful Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl. Both feature "Captain Jack" characters, swashbuckling adventures on the open seas, and impressive battle scenes. But where Pirates of the Caribbean achieved blockbuster status and Johnny Depp's eccentric Jack Sparrow character became a sort of cultural icon, Master and Commander barely broke even on Fox's budget to produce the film. At face value, that's understandable and not a problem. Both films were very well executed, and it makes sense that a movie appealing to younger audiences would gross significantly more at the box office. The reality, though, is that audiences chose the equivalent of a theme park ride over an excellent series of books that easily could have spawned even better sequels to Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World. The biggest disappointment of the film is that there would be no follow-up Master and Commander to follow Lucky Jack's exploits in the service of England's navy. Instead, we got two insipid sequels to the Pirates film, neither of which rose to the level of the first. Too bad. I would much prefer a trilogy of Master and Commander films, but it was not to be. At least we have excellent Blu-ray productions of both swashbuckling adventures from 2003. Cast Notes: Russell Crowe (Capt. Jack Aubrey), Paul Bettany (Dr. Stephen Maturin, Surgeon), James D'Arcy (1st Lt. Tom Pullings), Edward Woodall (2nd Lt. William Mowett), Chris Larkin (Capt. Howard, Royal Marines), Max Pirkis (Blakeney, Midshipman), Jack Randall (Boyle, Midshipman), Max Benitz (Calamy, Midshipman), Lee Ingleby (Hollom, Midshipman), Richard Pates (Williamson, Midshipman), Robert Pugh (Mr. Allen, Master), Richard McCabe (Mr. Higgins, Surgeon's Mate), Ian Mercer (Mr. Hollar, Boatswain), Tony Dolan (Mr. Lamb, Carpenter), David Threlfall (Preserved Killick, Captain's Steward). IMDb Rating (12/07/09): 7.5/10 from 58,246 users
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