One of the best adventure movies of all time, crushing the naval battles in Pirates of the Caribbean

In a fair world, Russell Crowe and Paul Bettany would have had three or four adventures on the high seas, but unfortunately Master & Commander 2003 underperformed. So we “only” have the one in terms of authenticity best seafaring film ever and an outstanding adventure. This offers battles that put the much more successful competition Pirates of the Caribbean to shame.

Master and Commander is a war movie that feels like an adventure movie

Truman Show director Peter Weir adapted a tremendously with Master and Commander successful book series by Patrick O’Brian. In 20 novels, the British writer told of Captain Jack Aubrey and ship’s doctor Stephen Maturin, an unlikely duo who went to sea in the Napoleonic Wars at the beginning of the 19th century.

For his film, Weir does without an origin story of this friendship. Aubrey (Russell Crowe) and Maturin (Paul Bettany) are a tight team, which is evident from the two stars who starred together in A Beautiful Mind. The crew of the HMS Surprise is also well-rehearsed. That British warship is to pursue the French frigate Acheron, which seems superior to her in all respects. What the surprise gets to feel right at the beginning of the film. But Aubrey doesn’t give up.

So basically Master and Commander is a war movie, only on the high seas and with bullet-spitting monsters made of wood and canvas. Peter Weir, who co-wrote the screenplay with John Collee, also attaches great importance to the The spirit of discovery of doctor and natural scientist Maturinso that curiosity and the momentum of an adventure film pushes in between the hard everyday life on deck.

The battles beat even the pricey competition of Pirates of the Caribbean

However, at the latest when the Surprise has to go into action, Master and Commander transforms into one tough war movie. Then the cannonballs whistle like invisible death across the deck. It splinteres and bangs until you no longer know where up and down is.

O’Brian’s books are characterized by the rousing Narrative of naval battles from whose strategy he understands even for laypeople. The same goes for the film. The heavy giants appear agile and dynamic thanks to Weir’s directing. So he can do without the extreme action exaggerations that exist in the Pirates of the Caribbean series, for example. And that doesn’t mean octopuses.

Better and more realistic naval battles than in Master and Commander rarely if ever seen in cinemas. Their effect is partly due to the fact that they are used so sparingly. As with Das Boot – just not to the same extent – everyday life on the ship, the power dynamics, bullying attacks and pure boredom are of interest here. This interest in humanity within the war machine makes Master and Commander a great film that should become a model for literary adaptations.

Podcast for Movie Fans: The Movies of James Cameron

In the latest edition of the FILMSTARTS podcast screen games, moderator Sebastian and FILMSTARTS editors Pascal and Björn talk in detail about James Cameron’s work. It also explains why James Cameron is the Stanley Kubrick of blockbuster cinema. At the end there is also a crisp ranking.

The screen love is the weekly cinema and film podcast of our colleagues from FILMSTARTS.

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