Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003)
Another masterpiece from Peter Weir in which he coaxes great performances out of Russell Crowe and especially Paul Bettany.
Master and Commander isn't a warts and all cliche driven naval warfare film, it's a study of comradeship at sea helped by a fine support cast in particular Lee Ingleby as a seemingly Jonah hexed tragic midshipman and the unknown fifteen year old Max Pirkis as a fellow midshipman, brave beyond his tender years.
Whilst the film sports some tremendous sea battle sequences it's the humanity that Weir and the actors enliven the film with that makes it stand out, scenes on the Galapagos Islands and especially round the captains dinner table where there's some genuinely funny dialogue bring a warmth to events that usually have the viewer champing at the bit for the next sea battle. Meanwhile the last scene has you desperately clamouring for more.
It's depressing when there's something like 300 Marvel films yet no sequel to this cinematic triumph.
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