Milkduds

Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (7/10)

July 9th, 2004

It took us two nights to watch Master and Commander because we both fell asleep the first night. Granted, we were both tired from being up late the night before, but that is the problem I had with this movie. It was incredibly slow and boring in the first 3 quarters of the movie, with the exception of a battle sequence 15 minutes into it. The whole film builds up to a final battle sequence and I think the boredom was worth it. I was really nervous to see how it panned out, and I don’t usually fall for that. There’s also some really good character development and not just for the main characters, but also for supporting ones. I was a little suprised at the point in the story where they stop in the Galapagos islands, but it made sense later.

As far as the nominations and awards go. It won for best cinematography - don’t know if I agree with that one - I think Seabiscuit was far more beautiful, but then again, I’m not a cinematography and I don’t know the criteria that go into judging it. It also won for best sound editing and I guess I can see that. The sound was fantastic and really made the film watchable - I just wish I had a surround system to fully appreciate it. I honestly don’t know if I would have chosen this film to be nominated for Best Picture. I really think Last Samurai was a better film and should have gotten the chance.

Overall, it was a good movie and story, but not good enough for an Oscar nomination. It is a little boring, but the final battle sequence is worth the wait. I would definitely choose watching it over some stupid comedy (which there aren’t any good ones these days).

Entry Filed under: Movies