Run time: 2h 20m
This week I spent some free time watching a film called Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World. Having been impressed by Russell Crowe’s performance in last week’s review, Cinderella Man, I thought I’d watch another of his films. The film was directed by Peter Weir a big name in the cinematic world. The film seemed like it had a lot going for it so I was excited to see if it would meet my expectations.
Plot
The film is based off a novel written by Patrick O’Brian and so it’s plot is very well put together. The film is set during the Napoleonic wars and centres around the adventures of the H.M.S. Surprise and it’s captain Jack Aubrey. The story is well-paced and it felt like the couple of hours I was watching the film for flew by.
With a riveting narrative that has plenty of twists and turns, I give the film’s plot a 9/10 rating.
Acting
Crowe is not the only big name on the film’s roster as he is joined by Paul Bettany, James D’Arcy and Billy Boyd. All of which brought a realistic and inspiring performance to the table. Every person acting in the film was pin-point with their display of British sailors endeavouring to track down the French Privateer Acheron.
With a majestic cast who successfully deliver a complete performance, I award the film’s acting a 9/10 rating.
Characters
The protagonist of the film is British Captain Jack Aubrey, played by Crowe, who leads his crew on their voyage. He is a charismatic and strong leader. As the film progresses Aubrey gets caught in his own obsession with tracking down his French rival vessel, almost to the cost of his own crew. Amongst Aubrey’s company are many interesting and likeable characters, such as Doctor Stephen Maturin, played by Bettany. The two are very close and their kinship is a joy to watch throughout the movie.
Aubrey is an intriguing person and the movie portrays his character development well. Therefore, I give the film an 8.5/10 rating for it’s characters.
Visual effects
Whilst watching this film, I felt almost as if I was following Jack Aubrey into battle against the French navy. This is due to the awesome practical and visual effects created by Stefan Fangmeier. He also got some help from Richard Taylor’s miniature unit, as they used scale models of the HMS Surprise and the French vessel Acheron. This made for some immense, life-like battle sequences.
This was definitely, visually one of the best films I have seen and so I will give the film’s visual effects a 9.5/10 rating.
Music/ Sound effects
This is the first film I have reviewed in which the music was put together by a group of composers. Their names being Iva Davies, Richard Tognetti, Christopher Gordon and Kristofer Gordon. I found their use of string instruments fantastic along with some incredibly realistic sound effects created by Richard King. King won the film an Oscar for it’s sound effects, which will not surprise you as he went to great lengths to create the most authentic sounds.
I will give the film a 9.5/10 rating based on not only it’s euphonious music, but also it’s impressive sound effects.
I had high hopes going into this film and it did not disappoint. I thoroughly enjoyed the epic storyline and spectacular battle scenes and I will definitely be watching it again. If you have some time to kill I’d give the film a watch, as you’ll be captured by it from the start, right the way through to it’s captivating denouement.