I\u2019d heard a good deal about this movie from a friend of mine who was of old Yankee blood and a sailor.\u00a0 I finally got a chance to see it last week.<\/p>\n
(Spoiler Alert \u2013 Skip down to last paragraph to avoid spoilers and read recommendation)<\/strong><\/p>\n The story follows the adventures of the crew of the HMS Surprise during the Napoleonic Wars as its captain, Jack Aubrey, (played by Russell Crowe) chases a French privateer, the heavy frigate Acheron, from the coastal waters of Brazil, around the Cape Horn and into the tropical waters of the Pacific.<\/p>\n Because the Acheron has a much more substantial hull the Surprise is heavily damaged during their first engagement off Brazil while the Acheron is virtually undamaged.\u00a0 Aubrey foregoes a lengthy refitting in port and instead makes hasty repairs at sea while doing his best to pursue the Acheron.\u00a0 But because of the Acheron\u2019s superior battle capability it becomes a cat and mouse game where the Surprise is sometimes the pursued.<\/p>\n And while all this goes on, we meet the rest of the crew.\u00a0 The ship\u2019s surgeon, Stephen Maturin is played by Paul Bettany.\u00a0 The doctor not only can saw off a midshipman\u2019s arm as needed but he\u2019s also the captain\u2019s accompanist in their musical string duo.\u00a0 I kid you not.\u00a0 The crew and the officers have a complicated relationship with strict discipline and primitive superstition both playing a part.<\/p>\n Eventually through luck and guile Aubrey engineers the attack on the Acheron and we get an epic sea battle with the Surprise\u2019s crew boarding the Acheron.\u00a0 And the Surprise is victorious and captain and crew prepare for the business of bringing the captured Acheron to port.<\/p>\n So, what\u2019s the story with this movie?\u00a0 Why do some people rave about it?\u00a0 The first thing I noticed was that the movie successfully captured the claustrophobic crowdedness of these sailing ships.\u00a0 You can feel the lack of air in the hold where the crew sleeps cheek to jowl.\u00a0 It feels real.\u00a0 Less like Hollywood\u2019s version of the 19th<\/sup> century English navy.\u00a0 Right down to some of the midshipman being essentially boys of twelve years or so.\u00a0 Then there\u2019s Russell Crowe\u2019s portrayal of Aubrey.\u00a0 Crowe is a damn good actor.\u00a0 He makes the captain a real figure.\u00a0 You can believe in him.\u00a0 And Aubrey and Maturin\u2019s friendship and clashes also ring true.\u00a0 The man of action and the man of science confronting their conflicting priorities as best they can.\u00a0 And lastly, the battle scenes are very well done and highly exciting.\u00a0 The only part of the story that I had trouble with was the final battle.\u00a0 The boarding scene was intentionally chaotic.\u00a0 Such an event would have to be.\u00a0 But honestly at many points I couldn\u2019t tell which side was doing what to whom.\u00a0 It didn\u2019t ruin the film but I thought it could have been a little less indecipherable.\u00a0 I enjoyed the movie and would recommend it to lovers of adventure and students of history.<\/p>\n