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

Release date: 2003-11-14
Country: USA
Language: English|French|Portuguese
Director: Peter Weir
Production Co: Twentieth Century Fox, Miramax, Universal Pictures
Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama, History, War
Rating: 7.4/10
Length: 2h 18min

Storyline

In April 1805 during the Napoleonic Wars, 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 goal.

Plot Keywords

ship, 1800s, naval battle, camouflage, burial at sea, ambush, amputation, surgery, based on novel, naval officer, 19th century, pursuit, classical music, all male cast, storm at sea, whipping, wildlife, broken arm, map, toast

Short Review

Jia's tenderness for his characters is infused with a quiet rage: as the wide-screen views freeze them in a confining emptiness, dead zones of action and dialogue suggest a land where imagination itself has been suppressed.