12 Master And Commander: The Far Side Of The World (Peter Weir, 2003)
What they said:
“Master and Commander stays afloat to the finish, but that’s all that can be said.”
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle
What we say:
An authentic, measured and ballsy boy’s-own adventure. Weir’s movie is smart enough to turn away from swashbuckling bluster and instead gives us a cat-and-mouse battle of wits and wills.
So, on the handful of occasions a firefight does actually break out, it’s a satisfying release of all the simmering tension.
Plus, the friendship between Russell Crowe’s gruff captain and Paul Bettany’s sensitive doctor is a joy.
