It's 1805, and Napoleon's army rules most of the European
continent with only a defiant England standing in its way. The battle is taken
to the high seas when the French launch the Acheron, a heavy frigate, into the
South Atlantic Ocean. Her mission is to enter the Pacific and disrupt England's
economy by looting and destroying her fleet of whaling ships. Captain Jack Aubrey
(Russell Crowe), commander of the HMS Surprise, is sailing off the South
American coast in the hopes of engaging the Acheron before she can break out
into the Pacific.
However, as the film proper begins, the Surprise receives a surprise of its own:
the Acheron has ambushed her, attacking with a withering barrage that cripples
the British ship and leaves her dead in the water. But Aubrey isn't called
'Lucky Jack' by his crew for nothing. He coolly orders the Surprise's fleet of
rowboats to tow the damaged ship into a fog bank, hiding her from the pursuing
Acheron. Yet while the crafty Aubrey manages to live to fight another day, he
and his crew face the sobering realization that their prey is now stalking them,
and their ship is easily outgunned and outclassed by their enemy, whom the
superstitious crew call "the phantom" for her uncanny ability to appear out of
nowhere.
Based on the popular series of books by author Patrick O'Henry, Master &
Commander: The Far Side Of The World is a magnificent movie that tells an
enthralling story set entirely on the high seas. Director Peter Weir manages to
capture the tiniest of details concerning the time period without sacrificing
either the story or the characters. Russell Crowe is great as Aubrey, a
confident master seaman who is the perfect embodiment of a stern but caring
commander who becomes consumed by tracking the Acheron. Paul Bettany co-stars as
Stephen Maturin, the ship's surgeon and an avid naturalist who would never miss
a chance to go ashore to study the wildlife. He also plays the cello to Aubrey's
violin in their frequent musical duets, and is Aubrey's close friend and
confidant. Ably directed by Weir, Master & Commander: The Far Side Of The World
is a mesmerizing chronicle of the early 19th century sailing life. It effectively
shows the dangers, superstitions and even the ugliness of the seafarers' life in
a mature and compelling way, while thankfully avoiding the scurvy clichés seen
in a dozen or more pirate movies. The story is literate, well told and a hell of
a lot of fun to watch. Even if you're not an avid sailor, and know nothing about
nautical terms, you'll still get caught up in this rollicking adventure on the
high seas.
The collector's edition has a separate disc full of great behind the scenes
features. There's a 70 minute "making of" documentary called "The Hundred Days",
as well as an equally fascinating look at the special effects in a 30 minute
documentary called "Cinematic Phasmids: moviemaking secrets". There are also
deleted scenes, an interactive canon demonstration, multi-angle battle scene
studies, and much more. Although there's no commentary track, director Peter Weir
does discuss adapting the Patrick O'Henry books into a motion picture. --SF
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