The fictional, though clearly fact-based story takes a snippet of a voyage of the HMS Surprise, an English warship assigned to capture or destroy the Archeron, a French vessel of superior armament and design. From the very beginning of the film one is assaulted with the idea of just what it was like to be a crewmember on a naval sailing vessel in 1805. Napoleon Bonaparte was at his zenith on the European Continent; the only place he was not able to dominate was the sea.
This film has a realism matched by only the best of the modern war genre; 'Black Hawk Down' and 'Saving Private Ryan' come to mind. Capt. Jack Aubrey (Russell Crowe) must make decisions that literally mean life and death to his crewmen, some of whom are mere children. Painful consequences are written all over the actor's battleworn faces.
The incredible battle sequences and the amazing navigation of Cape Horn (the southern tip of South America) are a tour de force of cinematography, CGI effects, and the simply magnificent soundtrack. I can honestly say the DTS format on this film is among the best sound I have heard in any DVD-it is that good.
I have watched this film three times now, and am still as impressed as the first time I saw it. There is nothing else in the sailing-era genre of naval warfare film that compares with Master and Commander. I thus give it an unequivocal 5 stars.
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