“MASTER AND COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD” (MOVIE

REVIEW)

The film “Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World” was directed, co-written,

and produced by Peter Weir and released in the year 2003. For its entirety, the movie’s setting is

dominated by the sea and rarely moves to land (Lane 2003). The thought of watching a 2-hour

length movie with nothing but the vast ocean to witness might not sound enticing to others but

that should not mislead them into thinking it is every bit of boring. In this epic war drama that

was set during the Napoleonic wars, we witness the nautical battle between an English war ship

named Surprise and a more modern up-to-date French war ship named the Acheron. Throughout

the story, we closely follow the perspectives of Captain Jack Aubrey (portrayed by Russell

Crowe), a resourceful man who is head of the command at Surprise, and his best friend, Dr.

Stephen Maturin (portrayed by Paul Bettany), their ship’s surgeon. The story talks about

common themes when it comes to war movies such as honor, courage, and sacrifice but in this

review, let’s take a look closer into the other side of the coin. That’s why I’ll choose to discuss

the perils of war more thoroughly – specifically the dangers of the natural world, the dilemma of

sacrifice, and the threat of superior opponents.

The first threat in war, especially in naval warfare, is Mother Nature itself. Just as

Captain Jack said in the film when they were stuck in a tide over for weeks with no wind to fill

their ship’s sails, “I can’t make it rain… I can harness the wind but I ain’t its goddamn creator.”

Before a naval ship is to be deployed, we can assume that its crew has already been fully

equipped for combat itself and is ready to withstand man-made onslaught. But there will always

be an underlying fear of the unknown – the feeling of not knowing when calamity can strike and

make all your efforts of preparation futile (Stavridis, 2017). There is no guarantee that a ship
would be able to fully withstand every single deadly storm it sails into no matter how much

assurance its engineers and builders give. It is simply a fact that nature cannot be manipulated by

man, and sadly, man can be easily toyed by the forces of nature. As naval soldiers, we have to

accept this truth and make the best of whatever grave situation we might experience once

calamity strikes.

There was one point in the story wherein a man accidentally fell overboard during a

massive storm after the mast he was hanging on broke then fell into the sea. This young man,

William Warley (portrayed by Joseph Morgan), was considered to be an exceptional sailor with

great potential, and he was also charismatic since he was popular with the crew. However, the

higher officials of the crew, along with William’s friend, had to decide whether they should cut

the ropes of a wreckage still tied to the ship and wait for William to swim towards it and climb

aboard, or to cut the ropes and let William drown at sea. Since the wreckage was already acting

as an anchor, slowly pulling the ship down, they had no time to wait for William (Lane, 2003).

So with heavy hearts, they cut the ropes, choosing to save the men on the ship. It is grim of me to

say this but this is to be expected when it comes to warfare. The second danger I would like to

point out is that at the end of the day, no matter how skilled you may be in navigating, combat,

or sailing, and even though you have impressive performances in your career of being a soldier,

you have to always be prepared to be sacrificed in order to save the majority; and for those who

hold the position of being a leader, it takes incredible amounts of inner strength to choose to

sacrifice one man for the greater good.

The last danger that the movie showed is the threat of superior opponents. It was

constantly emphasized by the major officers of the crew how the main protagonist’s ship was

incredibly inferior to the Acheron. The Acheron was described to be bigger, sturdier, faster, and
equipped with cannons that could reach further than those of the Surprise. However, at the end,

the French ship was the one who met its demise after losing to the English sailors of Surprise.

How was this possible? The answer can be easily determined if one knows of the teachings from

the Art of War written by Sun Tzu. It was stated there that if you cannot compete with the

enemy’s strength, numbers, or resources, then you have to beat them with resourcefulness.

Captain Jack was able to put his unconventional thinking to use by disguising the Surprise into a

whaling ship which lured the Acheron to come closer and capture it. After falling for the trap, it

was already too late for the Acheron to turn back as they were bombarded by cannons and

swarmed by English soldiers. So even if there is a very high risk of encountering superior

opponents in war, the best way to defeat them is with a superior strategy.

In conclusion, we must not blind ourselves to the mesmerizing valour and glory that

comes with being a soldier of war, and a successful one at that. The movie clearly shows us that

there are more dark sides to war than its pros. The film even barely has any of those typical

glorious battle scenes that fool people into romanticizing the “bravery” or “camaraderie” that

comes with war. Instead it chose to focus on the struggles of the crew members and the two main

characters as some descent into mental turmoil while others suffer from physical trauma. Hence,

as much as possible, soldiers must always be pioneers of peace rather than accessories to war and

conflict.
 REFERENCES

Lane, A., (2003). Ruling the waves Patrick O’Brian’s epic series comes to the screen. Retrieved

June 11, 2021 from: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2003/11/17/ruling-the-

waves

Robb, K., (2014). Fighting your Goliath: five lessons from the art of war that will help you battle

the big guys. Retrieved June 11, 2021 from:

https://www.smartcompany.com.au/business-advice/strategy/fighting-your-goliath-

five-lessons-from-the-art-of-war-that-will-help-you-battle-the-big-guys/

Stavridis, J., (2017). When the military does battle with nature. Retrieved June 11, 2021 from:

https://time.com/4941044/when-the-military-does-battle-with-nature/