If there is a connecting thread in the work of director Peter Weir it is to be found in his great theme, the clash of cultures. Sometimes the clash of cultures is in the foreground (Witness, Mosquito Coast, The Year of Living Dangerously, Picnic at Hanging Rock); in some of his works it is more subtle (Dead Poets Society, Gallipoli, The Truman Show). In Master and Commander it is revealed in the tension between the values and worldview of the warrior-leader and the healer/man of science.The master and commander is Jack Aubrey, very capably portrayed by Russell Crowe, one of the best actors working today. His good friend, the doctor and naturalist is played by Paul Bettany (who played the imagined roommate opposite Crowe in A Beautiful Mind). It is easy to view this as simply a standard swashbuckler, and to be sure there is plenty of swash to be buckled (whatever that means) but the strength of the film lies in its juxtaposition of the larger conflict and the battle scenes, and the interpersonal conflicts between the two friends.If the film were just about the larger conflicts, the spectacular battle scenes, and the pursuit, it would be too easy to dismiss the film as a remake-Gladiator Goes Sailing-in the same way that I dismissed Waterworld as Mad Max goes sailing. In the macro-story, the quest for the elusive ship, the story is reminiscent of many other sailing films. There are elements of Moby Dick, Mutiny on the Bounty, The Caine Mutiny. The thread that connects these films is obsessive leadership that walks the line between duty and prideful ambition. The most engaging part of the film, as is always the case in Weir's films, is the clash of cultures. In this case, the cultures are represented by the values of the two friends. The tensions created by the conflicting values of the warrior and the healer. These represent conflicting values, dialectical tensions, in all cultures and perhaps in all people. It is this storyline that redeems the film from being just another run-of-the-mill seafaring adventure.Having said that, I should add that the seafaring adventure story is particularly well told, and is wonderfully supported by superior cinematography. Cinematographer Russell Boyd is an Australian (as are Weir and Crowe) and Boyd has worked with Weir on a number of films from the beginning of Weir's career in the mid 70's. The cinematography is superb in this film. In the battle scenes we feel the claustrophobia, in the storm scenes sheer terror. When Boyd shows us the vast oceans or the Galapagos Islands we are awed by the sheer beauty of the scene. When the Academy Awards are announced, the Master and Commander may not be able to defeat the Lord of the Rings but you can count on it to be in the running. This one is definitely worth a look.

Despite the unwieldy title, this film is an unexpected pleasure – an actor's film, which is a rare thing nowadays in Hollywood. It's certainly not an action film – there are only two major sequences and they bookend the movie – but instead it focuses on characters as they develop through action and reaction. As such it's a surprisingly mature piece of work, featuring some excellent performances from the likes in particular of Russell Crowe and Paul Bettany, playing the ship's captain and doctor respectively. There's no showiness here, just strong, subtle work, and it's hard to choose who gives the best performance between the two of them because they're both great.This is an adaptation of a novel by Patrick O'Brian, which I haven't read as yet, although I believe it's a loose version of the story. Whatever the origins, it looks great, with often breathtaking shots of scenery – the Galapagos Islands, for instance. The ships are models for the most part, yet it's impossible to tell this, as the effects are very good indeed. I really liked the strong undercurrent of humour running through the film – such as the "lesser of two weevils" joke – and the surprisingly touching moments of humanity, like the boy who loses an arm and yet goes on to become a hero.What happens on screen might be familiar – there's the usual catalogue of ship-bound perils like droughts, deserted islands, wrecks, storms, cannon battles and a particularly well-handled "Jonah" – but this is about a hundred times better than PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN which came out around the same time. It's no surprise that the latter production, a bloated Disney cartoon, was the more successful of the two and the one that went on to spawn sequels...

Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World is a good movie with a reasonably well developed storyline and a stellar cast. The high octane action sequences and set pieces are enjoyable, but the movies highlight is without a doubt the performances, Russell Crowe shines in the lead role as a charismatic pirate, Paul Bettany is also stellar as the crew's doctor, the scene in which he performs an operation on himself is the best part for me. As far as the story goes, it's lackluster, their really is not anything about this screenplay that showed that this was made for any reason other than making money, there's no big surprises or genuinely thrilling moments, it all, quite literally, just floats along for two hours. The film clearly relied too much on the fact that it was the beginning of a series, because it is holding back, clearly wanting to save some great moments for sequels, which never ended up happening, and not giving enough here, they really should have just focused on this movie, taking more advantage of the potential it had. While it may not have been as good as it could have, Master and Commander boasts great action and stellar acting, worth the watch if you ever see it on television or Netflix. A British captain must chase down a rival French ship. Best Performance: Russell Crowe

It is a travesty that this film isn't at least 8 stars on IMDb. Master and Commander is an incredible adventure story and arguably the most beautiful movie filmed in the first decade of the 21st century.The cinematography is beyond exceptional and the score is simply inspired. This is hands down the best movie every made without a single female actress (barring a 3 second scene off the coast of Brazil).Obviously the novels provide more backstory and much more nautical detail (so much to the point of being tedious) but the film approaches the tale from a completely different perspective. This is a work of art. This is what CGI should be used for in modern films.