Ten Academy Award nominations is alot for any movie. Whether or not it deserved that many could certainly be debated, but Master and Commander is still decent entertainment. Plus, as far as a home theater film, they don't come much better. Oh, and it has cannons too....lots of cannons.
Master and Commander tells the story of the HMS Surprise and it's humungous crew. Their mission on the waters sends them out to capture the Acheron, a French boat headed off to potentially start a war. As expected as a viewer, things don't quite go as planned and the more advanced French boat hands them a beating. Captain Jack Aubrey (Russell Crowe) is determined to complete his given task and pursues the boat against the will of his crew.
This is the furthest thing from an all out action movie I've seen in some time. Don't be taken by the trailers. It's still a great movie, but there is far too much padding and unneccesary development. Take about a half hour off the running time and you've got a near perfect movie. Granted, I know nothing of the acuracy of the film (I've never even ridden a paddle boat at a theme park), but it looks real to these eyes. The final action sequence is also confusing as it's nearly impossible to tell who is actually killing whom, but hey, it's got cannons......lots of cannons.
M & C is available in 3 DVD seperate editons. There is a standard single disc edition in both full screen (ack!) and widescreen. Also available for a ludicrous price of $29.99 or $34.99 depending on where you shop (more on that later) is a 2-disc "Collectors Edition," packed with features. The movie, print, and sound is presumed to be the same quality on all 3. Reviewed here is the 2-disc.
Presented in a very wide 2.40:1 aspect ratio, this movie is gorgeous. The print starts off very dark to set a claustrophobic mood and the contrast with the bright skin tones is awe-inspiring. A few of the foggier sequences have noticeable grain, but this could also be the effect of the fog. It's very hard to tell. The sequences shot on the Galapogos islands are spectacular in their beauty and the DVD captures everything with fine detail.
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