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| Year:
2003 |
Rated:
PG-13 |
Runtime:
138 min. |
| Starring:
Russell Crowe, Paul Bettany, James
D'Arcy, Edward Woodall, Chris Larkin, Max Pirkis, Jack Randall, Max
Benitz, Lee Ingleby, Richard Pates, Robert Pugh, Richard McCabe, Ian Mercer, Tony Dolan, David Threlfall |
| Directed
by: Peter Weir |
| Written
by: Peter Weir, John Collee |
| Based
on the Novels by: Patrick O'Brian |
| Music
by: Klaus Badelt, Iva Davies, Christopher Gordon, Richard Tognetti |
| Movie
Studio: 20th Century Fox, Miramax Films, Universal Pictures, Samuel Goldwyn Films |
| Full
Details: IMdb |
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Review |
| HugeReviews.com
Rating: What'll
it be? |
Review
by: Step
up and review this puppy! |
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Wow…Master & Commander
by Michael Flanagan |
Super
What a great movie! When I first saw the
trailers for this one, I thought, gee, this looks like, yes, yes
I do use the phrase gee, this looks like Pirates of the
Caribbean, except without the fun, action, acting, or
interest…actually, it doesn’t look like Pirates, except
that it’s on the water in old boats, and the title is just as
long.
Boy, was I wrong. Yes, yes I do use the
exclamatory word boy. The opening shots of this film, bring to
mind the peaceful, music-less moments of Jaws, a literal
calm before the storm. There are no words in this moment, but
in it you learn what the ship is called, what its “night crew”
does, and how cannons work. Did you know they named cannons?
Me neither. Learned it in the first three minutes of Master
and Commander.
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And then the sound entered the world of this
movie. Two characters revealed their personalities and
occupation in moments, simply by looking at fog through a
telescope. The entire film functions this way, using so
little time and words to reveal as much as it can in every
shot. Characters develop in this movie in silent moments,
or in unrelated exchanges. You see the deepest souls of
each man in small talk. It is a truly amazing script, and
though I have not read the books on which it’s based, the
movie makes me want to. This is something a film has not
done to me in quite some time. And Russell
Crowe. My first real experience watching Russell Crowe was
LA Confidential, but I forgot about the guy. Only
after seeing The Insider did I discover that this
50-year-old man was simply a wonderful acting job by the guy
from Confidential. A truly amazing performance,
truly deserving of the Oscar they gave him for it a year
late. Since The Insider, Crowe has done nothing to
remind me of his ability. Gladiator was okay, if a
bit long. A Beautiful Mind was trash. Everything in
between seemed unimportant. In Master and Commander,
he’s back. I was expecting another loudmouthed,
smart-alecky hero who would wave his arms at his men and
shout commands like some drunken carousel barker. Instead,
he played Captain Jack Aubrey with such understated grace
and kindness that I almost forgot it was Crowe. Only near
the end, when he gives the hero speech/charge into battle,
did I remember. But by then, I would forgive much. There
was nothing else to forgive. The film flows
with in-depth study of character and historical lessons so
quickly and is handled with such skill by Peter Weir that
you learn the workings of the ship before you know the
credits are rolling. I was ready for more adventures with
this crew. An action movie it is not. More so, it is a
film that depicts the importance of taking action, and
inaction when necessary. Thank you, everyone involved, for
making me eat Crowe. Yes, yes I did just make a bad joke
that you really shouldn’t read into more than is necessary. |
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by
Edwin
Hopkins
Super
I thought at first that 1995's "Virtuosity" was
my initial movie encounter with Russell Crowe.
Actually it was 1994's "The Quick and The Dead"which
he co-starred with Gene Hackman and Sharon Stone.
Crowe's come a long way since then. And the way has
been getting better.
Crowe's academy award win for "Gladiator" was
well deserved. Once again he proves his prowess with
a sword in Peter Weir's sea epic, "Master and
Commander: The Far Side of the World"; a 19th
century high seas adventure during the Napoleonic
wars, based on the novels by Patrick O'Brian. |
| Captain "Lucky" Jack Aubrey of HMS Surprise has
received orders to hunt down, sink and destroy or
capture the French privateer Acheron. Not an easy
task. It's hull is made of solid oak, two feet
thick, is faster and has over twice Surprise's crew.
If it were a starship, the Acheron would be a
sovereign class Enterprise-E.
Director Peter Weir (Dead Poets Society, The
Truman Show) has crafted an exciting film
reminiscent of Erroll Flynn in The Sea Hawk and
Captain Blood. He ignites your senses from the
beginning placing you on Aubrey's ship as it sails
through calm and stormy seas in search of it's
"prey. "The ocean battles between the ships
are smartly done with all the gut wrenching sound
and special fx that will keep you on edge. |
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| Crowe's brilliant "Gladiator"
like performance is firmly supported by Paul Bettany
as ship's surgeon Stephen Maturin who ( like Kirk
and McCoy on Star Trek) happens to be his friend and
confidante. The rest of the crew, including younger
boys anxious to earn their manhood through
responsibility, even in heavy battle, are just as
uplifting. And 3 dimensional. It's always a pleasure
to see kids who are good actors.
This broaches what is probably the only glitch in
the entire film. There are a few violent battle
scenes where some of these youngsters get maimed.
Weir handles it prudently. But what occurs becomes
obvious later on. Be just as prudent about who you
take to see it.
This is definitely another triumph for Crowe. I
don't know if he'll see another Oscar for his
performance. But Master and Commander comes off as
an outstanding period film. It has all the
excitement of an old fashion great sea epic. With
that in mind, if we're blessed, we may not have seen
the last of Captain "Lucky" Jack Aubrey.[/i] |
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