Period drama fans are rediscovering a beloved 2003 film that features one of Hollywood's biggest stars. Based on the 1969 Aubrey-Maturin novel series by Patrick O'Brian, Master & Commander: The Far Side of the World takes place during the Napoleonic Wars. It tells the story of British captain Jack 'Lucky Jack' Aubrey (played by Russell Crowe) and his adventures aboard the HMS Surprise.
It begins as the ship is brutally ambushed off the coast of Brazil by The Archeron, a heavily armed and faster French privateer. Thankfully, the vessel escapes the battle, but Aubrey makes it his mission to track down and capture or sink The Archeron, knowing it threatens British whaling fleets.
A chase across the Pacific
The chase rounds Cape Horn into the Pacific Ocean, testing the crew's endurance, discipline, and morale. The two-and-a-half-hour film revels in fascinating period imagery and sometimes archaic turn-of-the-19th-century dialogue. It also features the robust cannon fire and bloody swordplay that is demanded of any good historical drama. Wier provides a view of the crowded and meticulously ordered life aboard a three-master British frigate of the Napoleonic era.
The Australian hunk shares the screen with fellow Marvel star Paul Bettany, James D'Arcy, Edward Woodall and Lord of the Rings star Billy Boyd, to name a few. Despite being a naval film, only 10 days of filming were actually shot at sea.
Behind the scenes
Other scenes were shot on a full-scale replica mounted on gimbals in a nearly 20-million-gallon tank at Baja Studios in Mexico, the same set where they shot the 1997 action thriller, Titanic. The film made the history books as the first non-documentary movie to shoot on location in the Galapagos.
Hoping to draw in crowds ahead of the film awards season, Master and Commander sadly fell short, coming in at No 2 in its opening weekend, trailing behind the Christmas comedy, Elf. Both the series and the book have been widely praised online, with popular critics' website IMDb awarding it 7.8 out of 10 and Rotten Tomatoes giving it 85% score on the Tomatometer.
Fan praise
One user awarded it five stars, gushing: "Master & Commander could very well be considered a forgotten epic. It's the stuff between the action, of course, that marks this movie as a masterpiece. Wier is one of the great thinking filmmakers and a committed altruist, so the lion's share of screen time is devoted to small acts of kindness on board."
Another agreed: "A thrilling high-seas adventure, Master and Commander delivers gripping naval warfare, strong performances, and breathtaking cinematography. Weir wisely grounds the intense but wearying high seas adventure in the friendship between Aubrey and Dr Stephen Maturin."
A third echoed: "The attention to detail is mesmerising, the action is thrilling, and Weir never lets you forget the stakes and the consequences for all the stalwart heroism. A satisfying epic. There aren't too many films that can combine intelligence and thrills, but Master and Commander succeeds on both counts."
