Film Review — Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
★★★★☆ Russell Crowe wages war in Peter Weir’s surprisingly deep nautical adaptation
At the height of the Napoleonic Wars, a bold captain and his crew engage in a desperate battle for survival against an elusive enemy they have been ordered to pursue.
The COVID-19 pandemic had us all doing something strange at one time or another. Case in point Liverpudlian musician Ian McNabb, whose Twitter exchange with renowned mad lad Russell Crowe gave us lockdown’s oddest beef, but also a solid excuse to remember Master and Commander as anything but the snoozefest it had been controversially labelled.
Like almost every art form, film and our enjoyment of them are subject to the viewer. But quite how McNabb could repeatedly fall asleep to the first ten minutes of Peter Weir’s rousing sea-based war epic is beyond me. And perhaps more crucially, beyond Mr Crowe.
A composite adaptation of Patrick O’Brian’s Aubrey–Maturin series of novels, Master and Commander is the closest I’ve come to true naval immersion. A gritty epic that scrapes away the Hollywood gloss, revealing a hull of splintered and water-soaked wood, populated by a war-ravaged company of men, willingly sailing with the knowledge that any moment could be their last. You can practically smell the gagging mixture of rum and gangrene.
The battles are a bludgeoning cacophony of chaos, men leaping across bows and through gunsmoke, slashing wildly at pretty much anything in front of them. These scenes are undoubtedly impressive, a testament to the work of the film’s talented production team.
And yet the film’s biggest strength lies in its quieter moments. Crowe and Paul Bettany are excellent as O’Brian’s primary heroes, polar opposites but fierce and respectable friends, bound by duty and driven by honour. Their dynamic has been likened to that of Star Trek’s Kirk and Spock, a favourable comparison I see and fully support.
It’s a shame this film came out when it did. Overshadowed by the gargantuan The Return of the King and the more crowd-pleasing Pirates of the Caribbean, Master and Commander deserves its plaudits; an intricate and immersive war epic with an ocean of substance below deck.
And with all respect to Mr McNabb, perhaps he should try taking his sleep medication after watching the film next time.
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