OK, so the title is terrible (*Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World*???), but Peter Weir's big-budget extravaganza about life on the open seas during the Napoleonic Wars is a welcome return to old-fashioned entertainment. The many negative comments here -- "talky", "boring", "not enough action", etc. -- tells us more about the viewers than it does about the film, which, I assure you, has action to spare. It's a measure of how vapidly hyperactive today's audiences have become when 5 minutes of dialogue can be described as "endless". Grow up, people.
The movie is really not as "intellectual" as its detractors make out (nor as intellectual as it wants to seem to be of its own accord). Generous critics will probably make too much of the presentation of the alternately conflicting and cooperating roles that War (personified by Russell Crowe's Jack Aubrey) and Science (personified by Paul Bettany's Stephen Maturin) play in the progress of civilization. *Master and Commander* is not a philosophical piece. Rather, it's a boy's adventure tale (even featuring a largish role for a 12-year-old midshipman) in which derring-do AND smarts win the day for our heroes. However, the smarts are not accompanied by 21st-century-style, hip, Tarantino-esque wisecracks loaded with F-bombs, and so the movie's appeal will probably be lost on the average idiot at the multiplex. Our main heroes, Capt. Jack Aubrey and naturalist/surgeon Stephen Maturin, are definitely men of the Old School: Duty before pleasure; an enthusiasm for the Life of the Mind (even macho Aubrey is not above taking battle-strategy tips from his egghead friend Maturin); a preference for classy things like Bach suites, which they saw together on violin and cello in Aubrey's quarters (I felt the movie was pushing it a bit here, but whatever).
One gets irritated after reading complaints that there's "no plot", when the plot is abundantly clear: England and France are at war; Aubrey has been commissioned to bring in a marauding French frigate -- the nicely named "Acheron" -- back to England as a "prize"; the Acheron turns out to be a Yankee-built monster that is better-gunned and better-manned, or at least more-manned, than Aubrey's ship. Thus, Aubrey & Crew take the retreating position in the cat-and-mouse game that ensues. One of the pleasures of the film is watching how Aubrey dodges the French ship with clever ruses like setting adrift a decoy-raft hung with lamps after nightfall: Acheron pursues the decoy, and Aubrey escapes. Presumably, these displays of cleverness must be the "boring" parts everyone's referring to. Well never mind. If you're still able to enjoy the pleasures of classical storytelling in this age of pachincko-like cinema, *Master and Commander* will be right up your alley. *Matrix* fans will want to avoid the movie. One other note: no females in the movie, except for a longing glimpse at a South Pacific girl. I realize this will further limit the appeal of this film -- i.e., no women for the female audiences to identify with -- but, considering the setting and genre, I felt relieved to not have to endure yet another anachronistic, butt-kicking chick wreaking havoc on Napoleon's legions. Ladies, give us guys this one, OK? We promise we'll go see *Love Actually* in exchange.
The movie is really not as "intellectual" as its detractors make out (nor as intellectual as it wants to seem to be of its own accord). Generous critics will probably make too much of the presentation of the alternately conflicting and cooperating roles that War (personified by Russell Crowe's Jack Aubrey) and Science (personified by Paul Bettany's Stephen Maturin) play in the progress of civilization. *Master and Commander* is not a philosophical piece. Rather, it's a boy's adventure tale (even featuring a largish role for a 12-year-old midshipman) in which derring-do AND smarts win the day for our heroes. However, the smarts are not accompanied by 21st-century-style, hip, Tarantino-esque wisecracks loaded with F-bombs, and so the movie's appeal will probably be lost on the average idiot at the multiplex. Our main heroes, Capt. Jack Aubrey and naturalist/surgeon Stephen Maturin, are definitely men of the Old School: Duty before pleasure; an enthusiasm for the Life of the Mind (even macho Aubrey is not above taking battle-strategy tips from his egghead friend Maturin); a preference for classy things like Bach suites, which they saw together on violin and cello in Aubrey's quarters (I felt the movie was pushing it a bit here, but whatever).
One gets irritated after reading complaints that there's "no plot", when the plot is abundantly clear: England and France are at war; Aubrey has been commissioned to bring in a marauding French frigate -- the nicely named "Acheron" -- back to England as a "prize"; the Acheron turns out to be a Yankee-built monster that is better-gunned and better-manned, or at least more-manned, than Aubrey's ship. Thus, Aubrey & Crew take the retreating position in the cat-and-mouse game that ensues. One of the pleasures of the film is watching how Aubrey dodges the French ship with clever ruses like setting adrift a decoy-raft hung with lamps after nightfall: Acheron pursues the decoy, and Aubrey escapes. Presumably, these displays of cleverness must be the "boring" parts everyone's referring to. Well never mind. If you're still able to enjoy the pleasures of classical storytelling in this age of pachincko-like cinema, *Master and Commander* will be right up your alley. *Matrix* fans will want to avoid the movie. One other note: no females in the movie, except for a longing glimpse at a South Pacific girl. I realize this will further limit the appeal of this film -- i.e., no women for the female audiences to identify with -- but, considering the setting and genre, I felt relieved to not have to endure yet another anachronistic, butt-kicking chick wreaking havoc on Napoleon's legions. Ladies, give us guys this one, OK? We promise we'll go see *Love Actually* in exchange.