I have never read the series of books upon which this film is inspired, but hopefully they are infinitely more rousing than what translates to the screen in this endeavor. The film opens well enough and nicely establishes the rigors and hardships of life at sea on a British vessel during the Napoleonic Wars. Unfortunately, it does not go anywhere after that establishment. The remainder of the film is basically a drawn-out cat-and-mouse game in trying to avoid/confront an enemy vessel while navigating around South America. With the exception of three characters, all of the British seamen blend together and have no distinctive personalities. I swore the character played by Billy Boyd was killed at least three times only to pop up later unharmed making this viewer realize that it was just someone similar and equally forgettable who met their tragic end. Max Perkis stands out as young boy who loses his arm in the opening battle. Russell Crowe packed on substantial weight to take on the role of Captain Jack Aubrey, but one wonders at the effort since the role is a relatively straightforward one of a stiff-upper-lip British sea captain essayed as well, if not better, in a least a dozen superior films. Paul Bettany is exceptional as the boat's surgeon and the film really becomes interesting whenever he is on screen. His side trip to explore the indigenous life on the Galapagos Islands is a nice passage. The remainder of the crew are instantly forgettable and at large unsympathetic. A subplot where the superstitious crew hounds a young crewmen to his death because they blame him for the bad luck and weather plaguing them makes them even less appealing. The fact that the captain seems to support their stand is probably believable, but hardly inspires confidence in his abilities. Even worse, the movie seems to halfway buy into the superstitious stance, which is reprehensible. After the initial battle, the few remaining battle sequences become increasingly repetitious and boring. We learn little to nothing about the enemy vessel, and with a horde of unsympathetic seadogs on the British vessel, it is difficult to become emotionally involved in the outcome. Film is entirely too long and flaccidly paced. It actually concludes in the middle of a pursuit, but it seems unlikely anyone will care about the ultimate outcome. It incredibly received a number of Oscar nominations, but no major wins. To its credit, it does convey one major aspect of life at sea to the viewer unending torpor.
