"Master and Commander" - Manages to Hold Fast
by Homer Yen
(c) 2003
"Master and Commander" is a Napoleonic-era
adventure film in which successful but
pride-filled Captain Jack Aubrey (Russell Crowe)
is tasked with a mission to prevent the French
from extending their naval superiority into
Pacific waters. During this time period, oceans
are the battlefields. And Jack commands an
impressive 50-man crew and 18-cannon frigate.
His tactical expertise and his determination will
help him possibly track down his quarry.
However, during their first sea battle, it is the
other ship that proves to be the much worthier
combatant. The initial bloody outcome is
lopsided and Captain Jack discovers that the
other ship has many more cannons, is much faster,
and seems to be made of better materials. And
thus the question that fills the audience's mind
is whether Captain Jack has the ability to
fulfill his duty or whether his hubris will
eventually lead his ship to a watery doom.
However, pride is not monopolized solely by our
stalwart captain. The film also takes great
pride in recreating the atmosphere of those
seafaring days when sailors showed what bravery
was all about. Their ships were made from pieces
of wood, movement was harnessed through wind, and
every naval battle became a lottery of who would
die and who would survive. They would stand by
their stations as they steadfastly stared into
the cannon fire that was being volleyed at them.
They fought off insufferable weather such as
searing heat or bone-chilling cold. And they
seemingly risked their lives just by climbing the
large masts to unfurl the sails. For these
elements alone, it would likely make a nice IMAX
presentation.
The problem, though, that many have had with
watching IMAX films is that they always seem very
long. Here, a lot of screen time is devoted to
showing us the myriad details of what makes a
sailing vessel operate or faraway shots of ships
sailing across the vast sea and even wondrous
wildlife on some distant island. The film feels
like it needed to be 20 minutes shorter.
It's not hard to see that there's also a
Discovery Channel-meets-National Geographic
quality. You kind of feel that you're back in
high school history class. Jack's best friend is
the intellectual doctor Stephen Maturin. In
addition to healing those wounded in battle, his
is an avid naturalist. His character provides a
nice counter to Jack's motherland-first
mentality. It allows the story to have a human
side, but because of the doctor's Darwinian
interests, Captain Jack's seasoned looks, this
film will appeal more to mature moviewatchers.
Yet, the IMAX aspect is indeed more interesting
than the cat-and-mouse chase between the two
ships across the high seas. The battle scenes
are well made, and there is an adequate amount of
awe and suspense that accompanies each meeting.
But after you've seen the first exchange, the
others seem like deja vu. This film is not the
jolly good adventure that characterized "Pirates
of the Caribbean." Here, the material, the
storytelling approach, and the nature of the
characters skew to a slightly older demographic.
It's an adventure film for adults. It's more
mellow than it should be yet probably more
competent than one might think.
Grade: B-
S: 0 out of 3
L: 0 out of 3
V: 2 out of 3
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X-RAMR-ID: 36336
X-Language: en
X-RT-ReviewID: 1219907
X-RT-TitleID: 1127359
X-RT-AuthorID: 1370
X-RT-RatingText: B-
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