Review of Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003) by Jonathan B — 27 Jan 2016

If Pirates of the Caribbean is firmly for the kids then Master and Commander is for grown-ups. It is gritty and uncompromising in its depiction of life under sail in the early 1800s. Russell Crowe plays Patrick O'Brian's fictional sea captain, "Lucky" Jack Aubrey and he proves what a fine actor he can be.

He oozes charisma as he plays a cat-and-mouse game with a French ship in and around South American waters. It gives a no-holds-barred vision of life below decks on a Napoleonic vessel. It is exciting and has some terrific battle scenes.

There's a genuine feel for the close-knit camaraderie between the officers and lower ranking men that was so necessary to keep such vessels afloat. As well as Crowe, Paul Bettany puts in a good turn as the ship's doctor and proto-Darwin naturalist.

It is something of a shame that this film never went on to be a franchise as there is certainly more material to mine and plenty of characters to be explored.