Master and comander.......

[allmike]

It is a good movie, but bit boring in the middle. I think it is a true story(or is it?), may be thats why it is bit boring. Not many action it has, it is like autobiography. But Ruessel Crow did a fantastic job in this movie. But u can have feeling this could have been better.

[Tashjbj]

I can't imagine this film being any good.. what's the story anyway??

Tash

[allmike]

I can't imagine this film being any good.. what's the story anyway??

TashBased on a novel by Patrick O’Brien, director Peter Weir departs from his credit list of Dead Poets Society, Witness, The Truman Show to create this period war drama. Here is a film about many ships: battleships, friendship, leadership, seamanship, oneupmanship.... Set during the Napoleonic War (1800s), this is the story of the British frigate Surprise led by Russell Crowe tailing and engaging in a mid-sea battle against the more powerful French warship the Acheron.

Presenting a human look at sea battles, as much through the horrors of physical combat as through the eyes of the crewmen (a curious mix of very young and very old), Master and Commander is a meandering Discovery Channel meets History Channel epic. Confused?

Well, on the one hand there is the backdrop of the Napoleonic Wars, on the other there is ship surgeon Dr Stephen Maturin (Paul Bettany), a naturalist on the quest for new species (leading to many long scenes of him and his apprentice exclaiming over iguana, cormorants and the like).

As Captain Jack Aubrey (Crowe, Gladiator), or Lucky Jack as his crew call him, tries to maintain discipline, respect and order on his ship, in as detached a manner as possible, Maturin, as his long time friend, is his conscience and confidant. Bettany and Crowe were previously teamed up in A Beautiful Mind and the chemistry between the two actors continues here.

Since the characters are never quite fleshed out you find yourself detached from their experiences. Fortunately the cinematography, which undulates with the stormy oceans and romanticises the sea vessels, draws you in and conveys the loneliness, claustrophobia and psychology of being out at sea, at war, away from home for months on end.

The script spars with an interesting depiction of a duel at sea, of the intrigues and strategies of war. Though not quite shipshape, Crowe and Bettany and the human aspect of the film make Master and Commander largely watchable.