Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World Movie Review (2003) | Roger Ebert Tweet Peter Weir's "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World" is an exuberant sea adventure told with uncommon intelligence; we're reminded of well-crafted classics before the soulless age of computerized action. Based on the beloved novels of Patrick O'Brian, it re-creates the world of the British navy circa 1805 with such detail and intensity that the sea battles become stages for personality and character. They're not simply swashbuckling -- although they're that, too, with brutal and intimate violence. Advertisement The film centers on the spirits of two men, Capt. Jack Aubrey and ship's surgeon Stephen Maturin. Readers of O'Brian's 20 novels know them as friends and opposites -- Aubrey, the realist, the man of action; Maturin, more intellectual and pensive. Each shares some of the other's qualities, and their lifelong debate represents two sides of human nature.

There's a moment in "Master and Commander" when Maturin's hopes of collecting rare biological specimens are dashed by Aubrey's determination to chase a French warship, and the tension between them at that moment defines their differences. Aubrey, captain of HMS Surprise, is played by Russell Crowe as a strong but fair leader of men, a brilliant strategist who is also a student, but not a coddler, of his men. He doesn't go by the books; his ability to think outside the envelope saves the Surprise at one crucial moment and wins a battle at another. Maturin is played by Paul Bettany , who you may recall as Crowe's imaginary roommate in " A Beautiful Mind ." He's so cool under pressure that he performs open-skull surgery on the deck of the Surprise (plugging the cranial hole with a coin), and directs the removal of a bullet from his own chest by looking in a mirror. But his passion is biology, and he is onboard primarily because the navy will take him to places where there are beetles and birds unknown to science. The story takes place almost entirely onboard the Surprise, a smaller vessel outgunned by its quarry, the French warship Acheron.

Using an actual ship at sea and sets in the vast tank in Baja California where scenes from " Titanic " were shot, Weir creates a place so palpable we think we could find our own way around. It is a very small ship for such a large ocean, living conditions are grim, some of the men have been shanghaied on board, and one of the junior officers is 13 years old. For risking their lives, the men are rewarded with an extra tot of grog, and feel well-paid. There are scenes at sea, including the rounding of Cape Horn, which are as good or better as any sea journey ever filmed, and the battle scenes are harrowing in their closeness and ferocity; the object is to get close enough in the face of withering cannon fire to board the enemy vessel and hack its crew to death. Advertisement There are only two major battle scenes in the movie (unless you count the storms of the cape as a battle with nature). This is not a movie that depends on body counts for its impact, but on the nature of life on board such a ship.

Maturin and Aubrey sometimes relax by playing classical duets, the captain on violin, the doctor on cello, and this is not an affectation but a reflection of their well-rounded backgrounds; their arguments are as likely to involve philosophy as strategy. The reason that O'Brian's readers are so faithful (I am one) is because this friendship provides him with a way to voice and consider the unnatural life of a man at sea: By talking with each other, the two men talk to us about the contest between man's need to dominate, and his desire to reflect. There is time to get to know several members of the crew. Chief among them is young Lord Blakeney ( Max Pirkis ), the teenager who is actually put in command of the deck during one battle. Boys this young were often at sea, learning in action (Aubrey was not much older when he served under Nelson), and both older men try to shape him in their images. With Maturin he shares a passion for biology, and begins a journal filled with sketches of birds and beetles they encounter. Under Aubrey he learns to lead men, to think clearly in battle.

Both men reveal their characters in teaching the boy, and that is how we best grow to know them. Advertisement There is a sense here of the long months at sea between the dangers, of loneliness and privation on "this little wooden world." One subplot involves an officer who comes to be considered bad luck -- a Jonah -- by the men. Another involves the accidental shooting of the surgeon. There is a visit to the far Galapagos, where Darwin would glimpse the underlying engines of life on earth. These passages are punctuation between the battles, which depend more on strategy than firepower -- as they must, if the Surprise is to stand against the dangerous French ship. Aubrey's charge is to prevent the French from controlling the waters off Brazil, and although the two-ship contest in "Master and Commander" is much scaled down from the fleets at battle in O'Brian's original novel, The Far Side of the World, that simply brings the skills of individual men more into focus. "Master and Commander" is grand and glorious, and touching in its attention to its characters.

Like the work of David Lean , it achieves the epic without losing sight of the human, and to see it is to be reminded of the way great action movies can rouse and exhilarate us, can affirm life instead of simply dramatizing its destruction. Advertisement Jack Aubrey | The Patrick O'Brian Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia The Patrick O'Brian Wiki Rear Admiral Sir John Aubrey is a fictional character in the Aubrey-Maturin series of novels by Patrick O'Brian . Contents [ show ] He is the son of General Aubrey . He has a wife Sophie , three children, Charlotte, Fanny, George, and one illegitimate son named Samuel Mputa. Part of Aubrey's success is the result of having been disrated from midshipman and turned before the mast as a common sailor. Some of his crew follow him from ship to ship, not just because of his leadership but also due to his knack for capturing valuable prizes, for which he is nicknamed "Lucky Jack". Aubrey is also referred to by some as "Goldilocks" because of his long yellow hair. He dislikes flogging and punishment in the fleet, and saves it for extreme circumstances.

His physical characteristics, namely a large frame and scarred visage, often lead to an underestimation of his mental abilities, but he is also a renowned mathematician and amateur astronomer. Aubrey's love of women has led to problems with the men he has cuckolded and with his wife. His other great loves are the violin and puns, which he seems to enjoy creating as much as telling. Unfortunately, as masterful and lucky as Jack is at sea, he is somewhat inept and unlucky by land, and is often forced to take ship hurriedly in order to escape his troubles and creditors. Portrayal Edit Aubrey is played by Russell Crowe in the 2003 film Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World. Most of his naval battles and adventures are drawn from actual Royal Navy history; several of his exploits and reverses are directly based on the chequered career of Thomas Cochrane. Career Edit Early career A resourceful and powerful man, he is regarded as one of the best fighting captains in the Royal Navy. He serves as a Midshipman on HMS Surprise , and the Agamemnon as a Lieutenant .

Later he serves under his own future hero Lord Nelson at the Battle of the Nile . At one point before his promotion to commander he is made a common sailor, in part because of a love affair he has with a black girl named Sally Mputa. Though this experience is painful at the time, it gives him a nearly unique (among officers) insight into the life and beliefs of common sailors, Aubrey and the Surprise enabling him to more effectively lead them as an officer. In 1800 he is stuck in Port Mahon, with no ship, on half pay and in debt. After meeting Stephen Maturin at a concert, he is promoted to Commander and given a 14 gun brig called HMS Sophie. With James Dillon as his Lieutenant, he escorts a convoys and capures many small prizes. Commander After the convoy duties, Lord Keith allows Aubrey to cruise independently, looking for French merchants. After a number of prizes are taken, they meet and defeat the Cacafuego, a Spanish frigate, losing a number of crew, including Dillon, in the bloody action and gaining the respect of other naval officers.

However, Captain Harte, the commandant at Mahon, has a grudge against Aubrey, who has been having an affair with his wife. His malevolence ensures the victory brings Aubrey and his crew no official recognition, promotion, or significant prize money. The Sophie is captured by a French squadron under Admiral Charles Linois in 1801 after a chase where Aubrey had her guns thrown overboard and steered her himself. French Admiral Linois brought his three ships of the line and one frigate into Algeciras with the prize cew, and they were attacked by a British fleet, which failed. Jack later watched the 2nd part of the battle from the Rock of Gibraltar. This time the British fleet is succesfull. Back at Gibraltar, Aubrey undergoes a court-martial over the loss of his ship, but he is cleared of the charges. A year later, at the conclusion of the French Revolutionary Wars and the start of the Peace of Amiens . Jack returns to England to take up the life of a country squire. He meets the Williams family, and their cousin Diana Villiers.

Aubrey courts Sophia Williams (the eldest daughter), but is also attracted to Diana, with whom he commences an affair. Aubrey and Stephen Aubrey plans to marry Sophia Williams, but his fortune soon is gone between an order to repay a wrongly captured merchant ship and the rest of his money being embezzled by his prize-agent. Aubrey has to flee the country to avoid going to debtors' prison and he plans to live with Maturin in Spain. Before he gets there, France delcares war and Aubrey and Stephen flee the country. Finally making it through Gibraltar, Jack and Stephen take passage aboard an East India Company ship, with Lt Tom Pullings on board. Unfortunately, the ship is captured by the privateer Bellone. Discovered to be a Royal Navy officer, Jack is going to be sold to the French, but a British squadron overtakes them and rescues Jack and Stephen. Jack is given the command of the Polychrest , and put on Convoy duty by Harte , he has an affair with Diana. Jealousy between Jack and Stephen rise over Diana, to the point when they plan to duel.

Prior to the date of the duel, Jack is ordered to raid the French port of Chaulieu to sink the gathered French troopships and gun boats and to destroy the corvette Fanciulla. On the way, the crew plans to mutiny because of the treatment they receive from Lt. Parker. Stephen overhears their plans and goes to Jack, the first time they have spoken since the challenge. Forewarned, Jack separates the instigators of the mutiny from the rest of the crew. Jack's ship runs argound in battle, and Jack boards a French ship which he uses to pull the Polychrest free, but she is sunk by french batteries . Jack returns to England and is Posted Captain and given a ship under construction. Afraid of being captured by his creditors, he declines and asks for a temporary command. He is appointed to HMS Lively whose Captain, Hammond, has just left to take up his seat in Parliament. Post Captain Sophia, at Stephen's urging, asks Jack to transport her and Cecila to the Downs. While on board, Sophia and Jack come to an agreement not to marry anyone else; Jack is too poor to propose anything more.

Thanks to Stephen the Lively is included in a squadron of ships that are intercepting 4 spanish tresure galleons . Jack earns enough prize money to pay his debts. Jack takes the Lively to Port Mahon to find Stephen, but learns that he is being held by french troops, and leads a party to rescue him, and take them all back to England. Jack is distressed to find out that the sum of the prize money was reduced because Spain wasn't at war when the galleons were taken. He is arrested but is temporarily spared by Sir Joseph . Ever since Jack had fled the country for debt, Mrs. Williams had forbidden Sophie to talk to him. He believes that she is interested in marrying an Anglican priest, but meeting Sophie, Stephen convinces her to go see Jack secretly before he takes command of his new ship HMS Surprise. Jack and Sophie meet in a coach in the middle of the night, and promise to marry no one else. Jack is given HMS Surprise and is ordered to ferry an ambassador to the East Indies. Upon getting underway, half of the crew become sick with scurvy and the ship is forced to put into Brazil to receive fresh fruit.

As the journey continues the Surprise makes a wide turn around the Cape of Good Hope, at the time held by the Dutch who are at war with England. To avoid encounters, Jack navigates into the waters of the Antarctic Ocean and has to weather a severe storm. The ambassador at this time becomes very ill. The Surprise puts into India to refit from the storm and to rest the ambassador. The ambassador dies east of India and the Surprise turns around and sets sail for home. They run into the East India Company's China Fleet on return for England, but unescorted. A day after leaving the China Fleet the Surprise spots a French Squadron cruising the Indian Ocean. Surprise engages the smallest sloop of the squadron, knocking about her sails, then takes command of the China fleet. He paints the largest as men-of-war and sends some of his officers to help them fight. The French squadron closes on the Surprise and the large Indiamen.

The Surprise turns and engages the largest French warship, the 74-gun ship of the line Marengo, and is exchanging broadsides with the heavier ship when one of the Indiamen is able to engage the French ship from the other side, forcing her to disengage and the entire French squadron is forced to flee to refit. Jack is allowed to transport jewels as freight which gives him a significant cut of the profit as a reward. Jack acts as Stephen's second when he fights Richard Canning over Diana (who Stephen asked to marry). Canning dies and Stephen is wounded. With Jack's and the ambassador’s surgeon's help, Stephen operates on himself, removing the bullet. Jack sails the Surprise home, after sending ahead for Sophie so that he may marry her now that he is out of debt. Within a day’s sailing, Jack overtakes an English frigate in the night and finds that Sophie is aboard. She refuses to marry him then but promises that once they return to England, she will. He and Sophie marry and have two twin girls, this is a bit of a disapointment, as he had his heart set on a boy, but is still happy none the less.

When Aubrey is ordered to take command, (as Commodore) of a small squadron of ships in Cape Town, and sails south from Portsmouth with one ship, to take command of the squadron, and sail them to the Cape of Good Hope. He is charged with taking the islands of Mauritius and La Réunion. He is given command of the 38-gun frigate HMS Boadicea. The wife of one of his captains, Lady Clonfert, seeks passage with Aubrey to enable her to join her husband but Aubrey is not keen on this and contrives to leave early one morning without her. After sail weeks of sailing he takes the Hebe, and sends her home with an old Lt, with letters. On arrival, Aubrey meets Admiral Bertie and also has to contend with the disparate characters of his captains. One of these is Lord Clonfert, a minor member of the Irish aristocracy who has political influence, and who served with Jack Aubrey whilst out in the West Indies. They were involved in an action together and he had some reservations at the time about Clonfert's courage.

Another is Captain Corbett who is a harsh disciplinarian and drives his men almost to the point of mutiny. Barett Bonden, usually Aubrey's coxswain, and Preserved Killick request permission to join Aubrey once more, particularly as Bonden was given fifty lashes for an unpolished firing piece on his cannon. After a long campain the British fleet wins and Jack sails home with dispatches. At home once again a captain, his mother in law thinks he has been demoted (commodore is a temporary rank). He is saved when he is ordered to take the HMS Leopard with transported convicts aboard bound for Australia. Sophie convinces Stephen to get Jack to go for two reasons, one because of Jack's situation with the family is worseing because of Mrs. Williams, and to help Stephen get over Diana. The captain is forced to drop the sick crew members at Recife, Brazil to receive treatment. This leaves Aubrey with James Grant as his new first lieutenant - considered a good seaman but with little experience of warfare, and occasionally rebuked by Aubrey for countermanding his orders.

The Waakzaamheid a Dutch 74 cuts them off near the Cape of Good Hope, and forces Jack to sail to Cape Horn. After many days of running downwind, the Waakzaamheid steadily gains on the Leopard and starts firing with her starboard chaser. Aubrey returns fire with his two brass nine pounders and a lucky shot shoots away the Waakzaamheid's foremast, she is pooped by a huge wave and sinks with all 600 hands. Being east of the Cape, the Leopard sets sail for Australia. The ship stops near an iceberg to take on ice to replace her jettisoned water but unfortunately is struck, damaging the rudder and causing a severe leak. After trying for several days to keep it afloat by pumping, Grant finally asks permission to leave the ship in the cutter once the water reaches the orlop deck. He and the hands are given permission to leave the ship. The Leopard continues running east pumping all the time and finally is able to find a safe harbour in a bay of Desolation Island. While there, Aubrey has the ship repaired but because he has no forge, cannot complete the repair of the rudder.

An American whaler sets into the bay for supplies. They are suspicious of the British, especially since it is the Leopard, the same ship under a different commander, had attacked the unprepared USS Chesapeake to recover fugitive British hands. The Americans, however, are suffering from scurvy - and their captain from a septic tooth - so they agree to have Maturin treat them in exchange for the use of their much-needed forge. Aubrey and his much reduced crew limp into harbour in the Dutch East Indies. He reports to the admiral on station, Admiral Drury, who he has known on and off for the last twenty years. Aubrey finds he is to relinquish the much diminished Leopard, now only good enough to be used as a transport ship, and return to Portsmouth. Jack and the Leopards ship in HMS La Fleche for the voyage back, commanded by Captain Yorke. The ship catches fire and Jack leads the Leopards in a long boat. They row at sea for weeks before they are rescued by the Java, already laden with passengers headed for Bombay and commanded by Captain Lambert. The Java engages the USS Constitution and loses. Jack is taken along with the officers to Boston.

Once in Boston, Aubrey convalesces from his wounds in Dr Choate's hospital for "lunatics" waiting for the next prisoner exchange. He is caught unawares when, amidst this type of "unhinged" patient, as Jahleel Brenton of the Navy Department starts to quiz him about the behaviour of the Leopard and its dealings with the US merchantman, the Alice B. Sawyer. Jack helps Stephen escape with Diana to the sea as he won't be echanged for awhile. They manage to rendezvous with the thirty-eight gun frigate, Shannon, entering the outer harbour on blockade duty and are taken on board. As his water supplies aboard the Shannon are coming to an end, Captain Broke - a cousin and childhood friend of Jack's - writes to Captain Lawrence, the commander of the thirty-eight gun Chesapeake lying in harbour, challenging him to come out and fight. The Chesapeake, already in the process of weighing anchor, comes out in apparent pursuit of Aubrey and engages the Shannon.

The Shannon's crew has had long years of practice at her great guns, aptly demonstrated to Jack Aubrey in practice, and the resultant clash brings about the British Navy's first victory in the war (having already lost three frigates). The Shannon sails to Halifax with her prize. Jack, along with Stephen, and Diana who is pregnant with Henry Johnson's (an american spymaster) child, start their return journey to England aboard a packet ship. Two American privateer schooners - commissioned by Harry Johnson - pursue the packet ship across the Grand Banks until one of them fortuitously hits an iceberg. After returning home he comes to find that his three children, have little memory of him, and are scared of him at first. This passes, however, just in time for Jack to be given the Arial, a sloop and takes Maturin to persuade the Catalan garrison of the fortress at Grimsholm to defect. Aboard the Ariel, Aubrey manages to capture the Minnie, a swift Danish privateer cum merchantman, after a day long chase. Once Stephen Maturin and British hands are aboard, they pretend to give chase to her in order to deceive the Spanish garrison.

The next morning, the Catalan troops and their colonel are loaded aboard the transport ships and Jack sails them to a warm welcome back at base from Admiral Sir James Saumarez. Later during a storm, Jack sees the Jason pursuing a French two-decker, the Meduse. He fires at the two decker trying to help, and slows her down in time for both ships to flee. After two nights of dark, stormy weather the Arial finds herself fifty miles off course in Gripes Bay with the wind dead on shore. Aubrey attempts to club-haul her but the Ariel ends up on the Thatcher and he has to beach her on the shore. After a brief period of imprisonment in Brittany, Jack, Stephen and Jagiello are taken to Paris, accompanied by a Monsieur Duhamel. Imprisoned in the Temple, Aubrey attempts to break out down the immense stone privy as Stephen is interrogated by French officers. Duhamel (who has been aiding Stephen) gives Stephen some English newspapers to read and Jack learns from the Naval Chronicle that Ajax defeated the Meduse off La Hogue which buoys up his spirits enormously.

It also turns out that Diana Villiers has given her great diamond, the Blue Peter, to a Minister's wife to help secure their release. Just as Jack breaks through the privy, four Frenchmen enter their prison cell - D'Anglars, Duhamel, a foreign ministry official and a cloaked officer. After agreeing terms, the prisoners are taken down to two carriages and spirited out of Paris (accompanied by Diana who has lost her baby) to a waiting cartel at Calais, the Oedipus commanded by William Babbington. Jack returns to his home with Sophie, and the kids. During the visit, Jack is given command of the HMS Worcestor , and is ordered to join the blockade off Toulon under the command of Admiral Thornton (an admiral of the white). The ship soon settles into the blockade routine, with some of the crew improvising a choir and the midshipmen's berth acting out Hamlet. The only trouble is when Jack has a run-in with his drunken aristocratic third lieutenant, Somers, for missing stays and has him transferred to another ship. Commands Master and Commander Movie Review Please Note In providing movie reviews on our site, CBN.com is not endorsing or recommending films we review.

Our goal is to provide Christians with information about the latest movies, both the good and the bad, so that our readers may make an informed decision as to whether or not films are appropriate for them and their families. MOVIE REVIEW Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World By Ted Baehr What's This? CBN.com  MASTER AND COMMANDER, which is subtitled THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD, is a rousing sea adventure starring Russell Crowe in another fine action role. Directed by Peter Weir (THE TRUMAN SHOW and WITNESS), its one of the more excellent features in 2003 thats appropriate for teenagers. Its certainly better than SCARY MOVIE 3 and TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE, which have been attracting confused teenagers by the millions. The movie opens in 1805 with the Captain of the HMS Surprise, Jack Aubrey, almost seeing his ship sunk by a French Napoleon ship, the Acheron. The Surprise has orders to stop the Acheron from making its way to the Pacific Ocean where it can find supplies and pirated booty for her French emperor, Napoleon, who controls most of Europe.

The Acheron comes out of a fog to almost blast the Surprise out of the water. After barely escaping by hiding in the fog itself, the Surprise hobbles to a nearby shoal, where Captain Aubrey intends to put his ship back into action. Aubrey pursues the Acheron around "the Horn" of South America. His best friend, however, Stephen Maturin, the ships surgeon played by Paul Bettany, begins to question whether Jack has not become obsessed with defeating the superior ship and her sneaky, resourceful captain. Director Peter Weir is a master craftsman at creating atmosphere, whether it be an Amish village, a crazy reality TV show, or the strange religious beliefs of Australian aborigines. He does a superb job here of re-creating the period detail of the sea battles and human struggles during the Napoleonic Wars between England and France. Russell Crowe and Paul Bettany, who worked together on A BEAUTIFUL MIND, have established an acting rapport that brings to life the characters from two of late author Patrick OBrians 20 "Aubrey/Maturin" novels.

The New York Times has called these novels "the best historical novels ever written." On screen, Crowe plays the gregarious Captain Aubrey with his usual insightful panache, and Bettany plays Dr. Maturin with an earnest, sarcastic pensive quality. They establish the kind of respectful, friendly, but tense, relationship that made the original STAR TREK series so beloved, where the spaceship Enterprise and her leaders were often compared to seagoing vessels, captains, and officers just like the HMS Surprise. Apparently, the late Patrick OBrian has established a similar passionate following with his own stories. What makes this movie really take off, however, is a superb little performance by young Max Pirkis, who plays a very young midshipman named Blakeney. Blakeney suffers a personal tragedy early in the movie, and the story follows him as he recovers from that tragedy and becomes friends with Dr. Maturin, with whom he shares an interest in biology. Dr. Maturin becomes a mentor to the young midshipman, who also greatly admires Captain Aubrey, though their relationship is a little more distant. This subplot brings color and depth to all the action.

Max Pirkis deserves great credit for handling such an important minor role so well, and Weir deserves credit for not letting the subplot overwhelm the story between his two stars, Crowe and Bettany. MASTER AND COMMANDER contains wonderful storm sequences and great sea battles, with lots of action and some violence. Regrettably, there is one "f" word and one GD, and some light obscenities and light profanities. Although the violence is not excessive, there are scenes of implied medical surgery. Director Weir cuts away from such scenes, or views them from long distance, before they get too gruesome, however. On the positive side, the movie has a very strong moral worldview, which is supplemented by some very strong Christian elements, including important positive references to Jesus Christ, God, and the Lords Prayer. These Christian elements come a little late in the movie to make it a Christian worldview, but they will help the movie reach out to the massive Christian audience and other moviegoers who admire Jesus Christ and some of his teachings. The movie is not preachy about these things, however. The emphasis is on action and personal relationships. Some minor negative elements take the edge off the movies positive qualities.

For instance, in one subplot, a crewman begins to think he has been cursed by the other crewmembers, who blame him for the ships troubles. Hes a "Jonah" they say, someone who has somehow offended God and brings doom upon other people aboard a ship. Also, one of the main desires of Dr. Maturin is to visit the Galapagos Islands and study the unique creatures and fauna there. Captain Aubreys pursuit of the French ship keeps interfering with the surgeon and budding naturalists desires. This plot is an oblique reference to the work of Charles Darwin, who developed his false theory of evolution by visiting the Galapagos. The movie does not mention evolution, however, and Dr. Maturin acknowledges God by mentioning Him at least once and by joining in during one important Christian ritual. The language, violence, and minor negative elements require caution for children. MASTER AND COMMANDER is probably appropriate, however, for most teenagers. As usual, parents need to take an active role and decide which of their children can see this movie.

Please address your comments to: Peter Chernin, Chairman and CEO The Fox Group Tom Rothman and Jim Gianopulos, Chairmen Fox Filmed Entertainment 20th Century Fox Film Corp. A division of Fox, Inc. and News Corp. 10201 West Pico Blvd. View All Critic Reviews (211) Audience Reviews for Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World The fictional epic sea yarns of Captain Jack Aubrey during the Napoleonic Wars in the early 1800's. This movie is an adaptation of a series of sea naval novels by Patrick O' Brian. The plot and characters being comprised of various segments from various novels in the Maturin series, the main two being obviously [i]Master and Commander[/i] and [i]HMS Surprise[/i] (there are 20 novels in the series). The story starts of seeing Aubrey (Russell Crowe) of the HMS Surprise under attack from the French vessel (Privateer) Acheron, the very vessel Aubrey is under orders to seek and destroy basically. The French ship is stronger and faster leaving the Surprise heavily damaged, nevertheless Aubrey carries on with the hunt.

The British follow the ship to hell and back through savage storms and freezing weather conditions trying to stop the French from attacking British whaling ships. Eventually whilst docked within the Galapagos Islands they stumble across the French and see an opportunity for attack, but in order to secure victory Aubrey must come up with something devilishly cunning in order to get in close to the French vessel. Now admittedly this plot might seem dull if you think about it, blokes on old galleons, old fashioned Euro politics, period costumes, stiff upper lips everywhere etc...but you'd be wrong. The movie starts with a bang as Aubrey must fend off the French frigate that appears out of a thick sea fog like a ghost. The flash of multiple cannons is seen in the fog and the Surprise is hit seconds later in an explosion of timber. Men and boys scurry for their lives as various wooden features across the ships main deck are torn apart by the blast, showering everyone in splinters. The frigate emerges from its advantageous position to the shock and annoyance of Aubrey, hundreds of men toil feverishly to get the ships guns primed and ready before the frigate can come about for another attack.

Aubrey remains cool and collected as he prepares himself, [i]sharp shooters to the top Mr Howard[/i], [i]stand tall on the quarter deck son, all of us[/i], [i]Mr Boyle, run up the colours[/i], [i]note for the log Mr Watt[/i]...as he is handed his tricorne. The Surprise is hit again and again, men are blown inwards by the shells, cut to pieces by the shrapnel. Those that are still alive are dragged down below for the ships doctor Maturin (Paul Bettany) to try and keep alive in his blood soaked quarters. The two warships are now virtually on top of each other, the Surprise heavily damaged with a smashed rudder. In desperation boats are dropped full of men to tow the lame Surprise as the French Acheron closes in. With luck the Surprise is pulled into another fog bank and manages to evade the French frigate, all is calm. From this one sequence you can see how much of a rip-roaring epic this movie is gonna be, it also highlights the immense levels of realism and authenticity on display. So lets talk about that, the realism.

Well for starters most the of scenes were filmed on a huge full scale replica of the HMS Rose (later renamed Surprise in honour of this film), a ship based on a 17th century 20 gun frigate. Now admittedly you can tell this, or I could, by the way the camera always pans around the hull of the ship and never drops below to actually show the sea, but apart from that this large set on gimbals is amazingly realistic looking from bow to stern. At other times the cast were shot on-board the real HMS Rose to capture some awe-inspiring panoramic shots at sea. Sure I don't exactly know how an 18th century vessel would look, but I have a rough idea like many people would, and what we see here is really impressive right down to the tiniest details. The main deck is a mass of ropes, rope ladders and knots, draped, hanging and looping all over the place.

Everything is of course made of wood which naturally seems very fragile but rigid (the fear of splinters plays on ones mind), the doctor uses sand on the blood soaked floor to get a better grip when dealing with injuries, hourglasses are used as a measure of time, and everything is generally very dim because only candles light the way. Its not all about battles and blood though, much of what we see is simply natural life on-board ship as they sail from point to point. The officers quarters are, as you would expect, spic-and-span with a grand but not overly lavish trim. The ships top gentry may enjoy a fine drink in the Captains quarters whilst discussing their next move, or they dine together whilst surrounded by their lower ranking officers, or the Captain and the doctor might engage in some classical music renditions utilising cello and violin. This one aspect shows their upbringing, their well-rounded, cultural backgrounds, as does their boardroom-esque arguments which often swing from strategy to philosophy again displaying the wealth of knowledge both men have.

On the flips side the lower sections of the ship are a much darker, bleaker affair where the grunts sleep in hammocks, space is limited, the air is probably pungent and where sickness most probably spreads very easily, although the top decks wouldn't escape that either. Yet despite this its clear to see that Aubrey is a decent man, a well-rounded, genuine, good Captain who cares for his crew no matter which station. He is of course stern but fair, displaying strength and leadership when needed to keep his men in line and loyal to him, but the crew clearly show they are happy to follow their Captain. Overall on a visual standpoint this film is damn near perfect as far as I'm concerned. The sets and props are all faultless, the costumes are authentic, every actors hairstyle looks actually genuine, the workings of an old 18th century ship seem spot on, the knowledge of the day medically and universally, and distance shots of the Surprise at sea at various times of the day are breathtaking. The fact they managed to film on the Galapagos Islands was also a notch on the movies belt for sure, the film is chock full of money shots.The film also teaches and informs you along the way too.

Its amazing to think so many men managed to all cram on-board a ship like this, that there was actually enough room for them, enough food and water etc...It also shows you how strong men must have been back then, when you see the pitch battle between vessels, wood being blown into millions of deadly splinters, bodies flying, blood, limbs, smoke, the noise etc...How on earth did the Captain manage to keep control?! its incredible how every man knew what to do, each and every one of them all very important cogs and gears in a large machine. It also gets you thinking about the little things, like what did they do with wet clothes? did they have other spare clothes or were they often wet? Did they really manage to rebuild parts of their damaged ship as we see in the film? At the start the Surprise is hit hard and badly damaged, yet the men toil like worker ants and get it all shipshape again, is that accurate? I did also wonder about the whaling ships too, like why were the French so obsessed with sinking British whaling ships? I'm guessing because they were carrying precious blubber which would later be transformed into oil? Did these ships really have many young, high ranking boys on them?

You see a good historical film makes you want to know more. Director Weir definitely captures the essence of a long period at sea, the loneliness, desperation, boredom etc...But this is alleviated by the addition of subplots which allow us to get to know the various crew members better. This being another of the films plus points, the fact that all the characters are well fleshed out, we see small story arcs , we care about them, from the bottom of the barrel, to the officers. On one hand we have the situation where one of the young officers is having real problems instilling discipline amongst the men, he is weak willed and at times shy, the men do not respond to him and refer to him as a 'Jonah'. Then we have a situation where the good doctor is accidentally shot by the Marine officer (who was trying to shoot an Albatross), and must undergo surgery, performed by his own hand with the help of his friend Aubrey. We also see the doctor performing major surgery on an elderly sailor whom we follow throughout, and we see the conflict between Aubrey and Maturin as one wants to defeat the French, and the other wants to push science.

[i]'I command a King's ship, not a private yacht, we do not have time for your damned hobbies, Sir!'[/i]. Finally there is the young officer Blakeney who comes under the tutelage of Maturin and Aubrey but for very different things. The young boy shares a passion for biology which Maturin is happy to encourage, where as Aubrey is slowly instilling a sense of authority and honour into the boy, so he can himself, one day, captain a ship. Both main leads show their true character with this development whilst at the same time showing how they play off each other and the crew. It may sound a tad boring to just follow this band of men around the seas on-board an old galleon, especially as the movie does have that strong vibe of passing time, but this passage is so thoroughly engaging I fail to see how anyone could not get caught up in the adventure. Especially seeing as the producers even went as far as to change the setting from the 1813 Anglo-American war to the 1805 Napoleonic wars so as not to offend any American audiences (ugh!).

Nevertheless this film has pretty much everything you could want, its virtually perfect in every field from visuals to acting to score. A rousing high seas adventure with tense, realistic, heart-pounding action. Grand in scope, and deep on human character. Phil Hubbs Mastering Leadership Reflexes: A Case Study of Captain Aubrey in Master and Commander, Utilizing Russell West�s Reflex Leadership Theory - Leadership Advance Online, School of Business & Leadership, Regent University, Virginia Beach, Virginia E-MAIL THIS PAGE The assumption of the present writers and of all leadership theory is that the future is neither predetermined, nor fully determinable. People can influence, but not control their environment and their future. Those who would lead must learn to dance to or act in response to environmental stimuli and the movement of fellow dancers. Using a popular film and a contemporary leadership development paradigm, we seek to illustrate that though events provoke responses from us, it is possible to develop the inner being so that a leader acts reflexively and wisely in the real world. Russell West’s reflex leadership theory sees four elements at work in every leader-needy situation (West, 2004). The first two, context and episode, are externals which provoke a response.

The second set, the person’s reflexes and habitus are the internal processes by which a person feels, thinks and acts, making the situation either better or worse. Drawing on his experience as an entrepreneurial leader, teacher and United States Marine drill instructor, West argues that both habitus and reflexes can be intentionally formed, empowering a leader to respond with wisdom and strength to presenting exigencies. He writes, “When encountered with a leader-needy situation, most people reach deep within and sometimes beyond themselves for adequate solutionary resources and forces. Habitus is that place to which they reach” (2004, pp. 190-191). West identifies eight traits and eight techniques that can raise leader effectiveness. In Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (Weir, 2003), audiences behold an English frigate being tossed by storms and fired upon by a superior French warship. The year is 1805, the age of Napoleon’s rise. The English vessel, the HMS Surprise, is an aging 28-gun warship, led by Captain Jack Aubrey (played by Russell Crowe).

His orders are to sink, burn or take as prize the superior French privateer, Acheron, which is en route to the Pacific “intent on carrying the war into those waters.” The roles of prey and predator sometimes reverse, as Aubrey demonstrates well-honed leadership reflexes and mentors people in his context, and ours. Traits that Increase Leadership Effectiveness Let’s first consider the eight traits or interior qualities West says are key to leadership. The Core-Keeping Reflex A leader’s strength begins with fidelity to values. Through the film, it becomes increasingly clear that Aubrey’s men may not always like the decisions their chief announces, but they respect the source from which they spring. These include the traditions of the sea, the intrinsic worth of people, fidelity to command and protecting the homeland. The doctor’s call to rid the ship of alcohol is rejected based on hundreds of years of “privilege and tradition.” Aubrey demonstrates respect for human souls through the death rituals, which announce with pride the names and roles of officers and conscripts alike. Without a doubt, however, the ultimate value lived out by the sea captain is his devotion to England.

Aubrey repeatedly shocks his crew with his persistence in pursuing the enemy ship, beyond orders, beyond expectations and beyond reason. Yet, he repeatedly reminds them that they are a warship at war and must act accordingly regardless of risks. “Duty” is not ultimately to the chain of command, but to the grand purpose, which has propelled the leader into service. Leaders such as Captain Aubrey often push their subordinates to their limits. But, while the moment by moment decisions and actions of such leaders are not always predictable, those who act and react from a firm core of values are followed because their motivations are trusted. The Ethical Consideration Reflex Choices can be made on the basis of fear, peer-pressure, immediate gratification, pragmatics or principle. Two episodes within Master and Commander vividly portray the importance of ethical reflexes. In one, a storm has cast a man and a platform into the icy Atlantic. While the man is calling for help and attempting to draw himself closer to the ship, the sea threatens to engulf the ship, now tilted by the drag of the fallen rigging. Ultimately, the captain orders the ropes to be cut. The friend is lost; the ship is saved.

Later, the Surprise has its prize in view and the positional advantage, but the doctor who is the captain’s confidant, has been shot and needs surgery. Aubrey calls off the chase and turns to land where surgery is safely and successfully performed. Ethical considerations often strain the soul. Leaders who are able to make right choices in ethically muddied situations demonstrate an inner being worthy of respect. Style Versatility Reflex Some people are predictable to a fault. Those who find within themselves a freedom and ability to adjust their personal style are able to lead more people in more contexts. Aubrey demonstrates situational leadership. We see him in full authoritarian mode when his position is communicated, by the positioning of his hat, a firm countenance and his dismissal of all objections. He halts his friend’s complaint of a broken promise: “We have no time for your hobbies, Sir!” End of discussion. At other times, the captain is the cheerleader of comrades who are repairing the ship. He is a compassionate visitor of the injured and the counselor of emerging leaders. Whatever Aubrey’s preferred role, he stretches to meet people where they are. Negotiating Reflex Leaders can be sure that they will be called upon to facilitate agreement between conflicting parties.

When faced with conflict within the group or between competing organizations, something from within will either push a leader to fight, flight or fix. Each has its appropriate moment, but a healthy leader often strives for the third alternative. In one instance, a crew member fails to salute an officer and, in fact, makes insubordinate contact. Aubrey knew why the crewman did not salute the officer and may have agreed that the officer was not worthy of respect. Aubrey’s fix is to have the crewman flogged and to forcefully, but separately, correct the young officer as well. Although the ability to see things clearly is a leadership strength, it is a great advantage to attempt to view each side of a dispute and to bring a new reality into being through negotiation. Orchestrative Judgment Reflex Every concert attendant knows there is a difference between the warm-up and the performance. The first displays individuality, as each instrument is a world unto itself. The chaos ceases, however, when the conductor enters the context and goes to work. During one of the opening scenes, the HMS Surprise suffers considerable damage. The crew and officers try to persuade Capt. Aubrey to return to England or even to a nearby jungle, to make repairs.

However, Aubrey finds a way to make repairs to the ship without falling too far behind the pursuit of the enemy. Repairs are made “on the fly.” By garnishing available resources and motivating his crew, the Surprise is soon back on the trail of the French vessel. The reflex of sequencing diverse resources for a single use is an important leadership strength. Solutionary Reflex The solutionary reflex is the leader’s ability to generate innovations to address problems. On two occasions, the HMS Surprise is a victim of surprise, and is threatened with destruction. In the first event, the rudder is destroyed by the Archron’s cannons. Aubrey’s solution was to have the lifeboats tug the ship into the fog where they could do repairs unseen. In a second escape, the captain gained significant capital in the eyes of his men, by returning to their previous course, but this time in the advantageous position. A weathered officer boasts to the men around him, “All my years I’ve never seen anything like it … that’s seamanship!” Near the end of the film, Aubrey leads his crew to morph their warship into a whaling ship, at least outwardly, and suddenly the predator becomes the prey.

People at every level of organizational leadership can boost their status by identifying a pressing problem and solving it. Somewhere deep inside, the leader believes that a solution exists and sets out to find it. Political Awareness Reflex Another leader capacity is that of perceiving competing agendas. It is naïve to believe that no one in an organization carries any personal or competing agendas. Although a 19th century ship’s captain was largely shielded by coercive power, we do see Aubrey consulting with the doctor and asking what the men are thinking and saying. Clearly, it would take a great deal of opposing pressure to convince him to end the pursuit, but he demonstrates wisdom in tending to the pulse of various interests. A true leader is unimpressed with robotic obedience, preferring that subordinates generate ideas, develop their strengths and operate from their core values and passions. It is not the elimination of political agendas, but the coordinating of them, that advances a cause. Action Biased Reflex This trait involves responding proactively to situations with energy for changes. The other traits are of little value if not accompanied by a tendency to translate thought into action. The opening scene of Master and Commander provides an instructive contrast of the degree of action bias among leaders.

An officer on watch glimpses threatening shadows through the fog, but is hesitant to act. A peer comes alongside and the two converse as follows: What is it?

Question: What is the name of Captain Jack Aubrey’s ship in the 2003 film ‘Master and Commander: the Far Side of the World’?
Answer: HMS Surprise