UNCUT - Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003)

He might've gone beyond his original orders, but captains that far from home were given great latitude. And this was a military ship. Not pseudo military like Starfleet. But serious waging of bloody and violent war type military. The captain didn't have the freedom to 'evolve his character' in the ways I suspect you wanted. Nor the inclination, given his selection and training.

The smoke was because whalers had smoke from their processing of the whale oil.

If Alex wants an aircraft carrier movie, you guys should definitely watch The Final Countdown

Guys. Metric system? It was 1805!!! Britain didn't adopt the metric system until the 1960s. The metric system, and all the pedantic drama about the US not adopting it officially is a very modern issue. This film is about the Napoleonic Wars.

Appreciate that you guys are so honest. You made great points.

The books are absolutely EXCELLENT, giving you a great deal of detail on what sailing was like while balancing it with humor and action to keep things moving. This movie was a hodgepodge of events that happened across several of the books (the series is about 20 books long and starts with Jack's first command). If you like historical novels, it's a great series to read. I'm glad you guys watched this, I enjoyed viewing it again with you!

You're going to like DS9.

Sounds like you wanted Moby Dick.

Rather than the arc being about Jack being 'punished' for his single-mindedness, the arc is about Jack and Steven both deciding to compromise to help the other's point of view. Jack temporarily gives up the chase in order to bring Steven to the island where he has the best chance of survival, and not much later, Steven gives up his time on the island and all his captured animals because they have an opportunity to catch the French ship.

I love this movie! I knew you guys wouldn't be super into it but it was still an enjoyable watch. I'm a big fan of naval history and historical war movies so it's perfect for me. The "mmm whatcha saaay" at 1:03:00 killed me

Hmm, this Christmas, I wonder if you would like "It's a Wonderful Life" if you never saw it. It's definitely a big character piece, focusing on character development, relationships... And it's all heart.

I see a lot of Kirk & Bones in the Crowe & Bettany characters.

Well I read some comments and I am scared.. So far 5th Element, The hunt for Red October, Red Dwarf and now this..all my very favorite movies...daamn haha

I had high hopes that you would both love this, and again you surprise me. Especially with this being an all male bro movie. I wonder if I should watch your reactions first before investing the time into the movie. Or is the fun in the gamble that you might actually like it..hmm..it was still a fun ride!

Cannot wait. Avoiding comments until I see it later tonight!

I can’t watch until Friday. Something I’ve found interesting is to go watch TOS The Corbomite Maneuver after seeing this movie and look for the similarities. It’s fun

I believe the "Nelson" they are talking about in the dinner scene is the same Picard refers to when talking to Guinan in BoBW1.

Nah... I didn't recommend this movie to you because it's a ship with a crew.... "like Star Trek." I just thought it was a great movie that you'd like. Ahh, well. I'll have to adjust how I approach the movies I recommend.

Also, you mentioned the pre-battle speech was lacking. While the delivery could have had a bit more oomph, I agree, you did catch that our ship was the HMS Surprise, yes? So, evoking the defense of England and closing with "... surprise is on our side," especially as a pun, definitely would have carried the room. (Totally ok if you missed it.)

Totally understandable reaction. Master & Commander was never a pack the theaters kind of movie. More of a prestige period piece made in response to the surprise popularity of the first Pirates movie. Oh, they liked that? Well, let's do a really realistic frigate movie and see what happens. If nothing else, it's beautifully shot and I've always loved the incorporation of the classical tracks (both diegetic and non) throughout. Always a nice one to revisit, but not one I'd intentionally reserve time for.

You guys are on the imperial measurement system. USA, Liberia, and Myanmar are the 3 countries still on imperial as their official measurement system. The rest of the planet is on the metric system ;p In Canada we do use both, at least in conversation. We'll say feet and pounds casually. but metric system ftw baby

My comment in PM to you after the lottery win for this movie regarding my best guess as to your reaction once you have seen it was (Coming Soon...... The Hunt For French October). Yes, well-made movie. Respect where it is deserved. One viewing was more than enough for me back when it came out. Just doesn't fit in my wheelhouse. Happy for those that love it, though. We can't all like the same things.

I love this movie! It partially inspired my current ttrpg campaign. Glad you guys enjoyed it to some degree. FYI, the usage of feet and inches as measurements was not an error. In that period, the British were still using the same measurements as us. They switched to metric later and we didn't.

Great watch along, gents. I appreciate that even though it might not be your typical thing you stayed locked in, found what you liked about it and put out a good reaction video I can return to sometime down the road to watch along with again

The guy with the "Hold Fast" tattoo is the MVP! ;)

It's good you're more interesting in character growth and not going to war but, we don't have time for your damn hobbies!

As one of the suggesters of this one, Josh, I will say while I liked the battles as well, what really does make it a favorite of mine IS the character interactions. Crowe and Bettany butting heads, them both sort of mentoring the kid who lost his arm, the questions whether Jack is too reckless, etc. If not for those aspects of it, it wouldn't be anything that special to me, beyond some "well made" action scenes.

You would've understood more if you had been around during the Napoleonic Wars. If you were also kids of the 1800s, you'd get it!

The beetle is a callback to what the kid says "You could wander the island all day and never find it." Just. Like. The. Ship. We were still using single shot and rifled muskets by the Civil War in the 1860s. Guns were "cap and ball" until after the Civil War. (Though there were some cartridge models coming to market. The first level action rifle, the Henry rifle.) Also, if you folks are interested in learning more, history buffs did a great piece: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Iwea41ua0Y The captain of the other ship was committing a crime, at minimum, by evading identifying himself properly, that could be interpreted as espionage. The other side is the captain could try to stage a retaking of the ship. Aubrey's crew on the Acheron thinks they have a defeated French crew without a captain. That's why that becomes a bigger issue.

Evolution isn't intentional its random mutations. The bug that looks like a stick or a thorn are just the survivors.

About an hour in and they are laughing through it. Never a good sign! I think a lot of fans are gonna be disappointed.

RIP all your UK patrons

Oooooo, I like this movie! I'll catch this when I get home. It's not 'OMG this is awesome' but when I saw it in theaters it was nice entertainment

So it sounds like what I'm hearing is you guys would rate this C/B? Can't argue with your opinions and critique. Even though a similar captain character in books and film inspired Gene Roddenberry with the Captain Pike/Kirk character, I would suggest avoiding Horatio Hornblower films and TV given how you feel about this one.