Thanks to our awesome friends, Kat and Josh, we got to see a sneak preview of Russell Crowe’s new movie Master and Commander: Farside of the World. It has the worlds longest title but it was great!

It’s based on the books by Patrick O’Brian about Capt. “Lucky” Jack Aubry and his good friend Dr. Stephen Maturin aboard the HMS Surprise. The movie centers around Aubry’s pursuit of the French (American in the book) privateer Echeron around the Horn (of South America) and into the Pacific (aka the Farside of the World). There are amazing naval battles, brutal in their intensity and realism, with guns blazing and pistols cracking. The sound was magnificent, it made you feel the cannonballs go wizzing by. I had very high expectations for the movie, if it was to live up to the books and it delivered. It isn’t a watered down pirate movie, but a realistic historical drama. It captures the horror and drudgery of life aboard a King’s ship as well as the glory and the honor.

But be warned, this movie is not for the faint of heart. It’s not gory by any means but it is realistic – there are broken bones and gunshots but not a lot of blood. If you’re an Aubry fan you won’t be dissapointed, and you’ll be happy to know they included the spotted dog…