Chris and I finally saw Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World. Keeping in mind that I’m a rabid Patrick O’Brian fan and that I was already aware of the major liberties being taken with the plot, I wasn’t disappointed. While the storyline was mostly fabricated (being taken neither from Master and Commander nor The Far Side of the World, although it’s more of the latter than the former), I felt it was more or less true to the spirit of the series itself. The roles were cast well, and as someone already familiar with the characters from spending an entire god damned year reading about them, I liked the way they were played - although I wonder how much is lost for those who haven’t been exposed to the novels. There’s not a lot of exposition, character or otherwise, but maybe more isn’t really necessary. Chris enjoyed it, despite being aware of having missed some inside jokes.

I was worried about Bettany being cast as Maturin, not having seen him in any other roles, but I think he did it well. I’m glad they didn’t get rid of the music and the natural science expeditions, although I did notice they cut out a lot of his Irish mannerisms - I have the impression this wasn’t always the case, as reviews of screenings of the film from last year often referred to him as the Gay Doctor. I don’t like Crowe all that much in general, but again I was pleasantly surprised with his Aubrey.

They certainly left the ending open for a sequel, although I wonder how closely they’ll stick to the general story arc of the series given the departures in the first film. I wouldn’t mind seeing more of the same, however.