(Review originally written at 9 December 2005)
This movie is a typical case of 'you'll either love it or hate it'. I for one certainly didn't liked this movie a whole lot but I can understand how to somebody else this movie might seem like a dream coming true, if you're a fan of sea adventures.
"Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World" actually isn't a long movie (138 minutes) but still it feels like an 3 hour+ movie. Reason for this is the storytelling. The movie is slow and basically most of the movie is about the characters talking and having diner aboard and in between they have some battles on the sea. I didn't found to be the story terribly appealing but like I said before if you're interested in this kind of historical stuff this is simply a must see for you. I feel that don't that a movie set almost entirely on the sea is that interesting and appealing to watch. The only movie that ever has succeeded in creating a good and interesting story set almost entirely on the sea is "Das Boot". The movie is well crafted and has some wonderful cinematography and a suiting musical score. The atmosphere is great and wonderfully dark and realistic at times. So visually there is very little wrong with this movie.
There are some good battle sequences, with good sound-effects and visual effects but those moments are not good enough to make the movie a must see, or an interesting watch.
The movie would had been better for me if it had some better characters in it. I still don't exactly know who all those characters were and what drove them. The only character that are truly deepened out a bit are the characters played by Russell Crowe and Paul Bettany, on which the movie mainly focuses. The characters could had made the movie more interesting to follow but instead it remains nothing more than a missed opportunity.
Paul Bettany was really superb in this movie. Yes, even better as Russell Crowe, who also was perfectly cast in the movie. The movie has a good supporting cast but their characters aren't really interesting for the story.
It most certainly isn't a bad movie but it's a long sit that isn't always interesting enough to follow.
6/10
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