Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (Blu-ray)

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"Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World" and its star Russell Crowe share at least one thing in common. You either hate them or you love them. I don´t think I´ve ever run into one person that has sat on the fence in regards to either man or film. I know a few people who absolutely loathe "Master and Commander," and I know a few people who think it is a gorgeous and well-crafted cinematic masterpiece. Never once have I heard somebody say "It´s a decent movie." That just never happens. The same goes for Crowe. People either feel he is one of today´s most talented thespians or they believe that Crowe is an overrated and bloated Aussie who should keep to throwing telephones and get off the screen. Nobody ever says that Russell Crowe is "A decent enough actor." Again, this just never seems to happen.

In my humble opinion, Russell Crowe is an incredibly talented actor that goes to great lengths for the roles he signs on for and this is apparent in the well-crafted and stunning "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World" that eschews today´s MTV-generation pacing and high-octane storytelling for a compelling and interesting tale about the dangers of the high seas. This is a film that does for tall sailing ships what "Das Boot" did for submarines. It combines a few simply awesome fighting sequences with a taste of what it was like to be a navy man at a time when a dash of lime separated the men from those who suffered scurvy and dysentery. This is a film that isn´t afraid of slowing its pace to a snails crawl to effectively tell and story and ignores the current Hollywood trend of making everything noisier than hell and faster than a minute man.

The film is based upon the Patrick O´Brian novels that tell the tale of Captain Jack Aubrey (Russell Crowe), the head naval officer on the British ship H.M.S. Surprise and his good friend Dr. Stephen Maturin (Paul Bettany). "Master and Commander" is not completely honest with its adaptation of the novels, but does capture some of the main themes, but changes a few details to allow the film to fit into a tighter two hour running time and most of the story of the film comes from the tenth novel in the series, "The Far Side of the World." My father has read the novels that tell the stories Aubrey and Maturin and while he feels a general disdain towards the film and believes it has butchered the novels, he does admit that it gets many things right. I´m of the mind that films are never wholly true to a novel and having briefly read some of the O´Brian writings, I was more than happy with the film adaptation.

The story told in the film opens with the Surprise coming under fire from a French ship called the Acheron. Aubrey is under orders to destroy the Acheron, but comes under the guns of the larger and more powerful French ship first. The severely damaged surprise evades destruction by hiding in the thick fog. After it is believed that the Surprise is safe from the Acheron, Aubrey has the crew repair and re-fit the ship at sea and they quickly resume their pursuit of the Acheron. However, it is the Acheron that once again surprises the Surprise and the British vessel finds itself once again resorting to trickery to evade destruction, but Aubrey refuses to back down and follows the Acheron into Cape Horn. The rugged seas and deadly weather hinder their pursuit and the Surprise is again damaged and Aubrey declares to his crew and his good friend Dr. Maturin that they will be heading to the Galapagos Islands.

The arrival at the Galapagos Islands is pivotal for one subplot contained in the film. Maturin is a naturalist and pines to discover new species of animal and fauna. Aubrey whole-heartedly wants to provide his friend with an opportunity to discover nature, but duty to England continues to pose a problem for the desires of Maturin. When they arrive at the Galapagos Islands, a British whaling ship has been bested by a ship that meets the description of the Acheron and Aubrey must sadly break his word to his friend and pursue the French sailing ship. During the pursuit, Maturin is wounded and they return to the Galapagos to permit Maturin to both heal and to make good on the promise made by Aubrey. This second visit to the Islands is again cut short when the Acheron is discovered.

The film then moves on to the stunning action sequence where Aubrey conjures up a daring plan to trick the larger and more capable French vessel into coming into a less defensible position and allow the smaller and out-gunned HMS Surprise an opportunity to conquer and defeat the Acheron by boarding her. Early on, the film teases its audience by providing an awe-inspiring taste of naval combat when the Surprise is heavily damaged by the French ´ghost ship.´ Watching cannonballs shred the Surprise to toothpicks was an exciting sequence, but the assault of the Surprise against the unsuspecting Acheron is well worth the long build-up to the pivotal climax where Aubrey finally makes good on his orders. "Master and Commander" is not an action film, but the slow and tedious pace that builds the story and its characters has a tremendous reward in this great combat sequence.

Before the reward is realized, "Master and Commander" is simply exceptional storytelling and rich in character. A large portion of the film devotes itself to Captain Aubrey and the sacrifices he must make to friend and crew in order to keep the Surprise a fit fighting machine. He must renege on a promise he made to a friend when a choice must be made to honor friendship or stay true to his orders. He must also flog a disrespectful sailor to keep the crew of the Surprise in order. Russell Crowe is an actor of the rare caliber that can show the heart and sorrow required for a Captain to make these painful decisions and through his performance you can feel the conflict and pain in Aubrey´s decisions to keep on with his ordered mission.

"Master and Commander" also paints a portrait detailing the trials and tribulations suffered by a crew of a British naval vessel in 1805. The tight and far-from hospitable conditions on the ship are nothing that most people could tolerate in today´s world. The food looks sickening and when it fails to rain for a long stretch of time, the crew must go without water. Crew members die of disease and some members lose their sanity and will to live after long stretches on the treacherous seas. There is tension and there is strife and many people do not get along very well in a time of war on these small vessels. The sea itself becomes as much an enemy to the Surprise as the enemy ship Acheron and one defeat for the Surprise comes in the form of wind and high waves. A film such as "Master and Commander" does not need forced suspense and hokey action scenes to convey its message; the suffering of the crew of the Surprise is far more powerful than anything Michael Bay has delivered (not to pick on Bay, but "Pearl Harbor" comes to mind).

I mentioned early on in my review that "Master and Commander" reminds me to some extent of the World War II submarine epic masterpiece "Das Boot." That film showed the psychological effect of living on a submarine and suspense of the silence of the open seas and used a sparse number of action scenes to drive home the sense of danger in the film. "Das Boot" was far more about character and the suffering of the crew on the submarine than it was about grandiose action sequences and over-the-top tribulations of the crew. It attempted to ground itself in the reality of daily life during a strenuous series of circumstances and "Master and Commander" does much of the same. I simply love "Das Boot" and consider it one of my favorite war films.