Master and Commander

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Year:	2003
Country of origin:	USA
Director:	Peter Weir
Genre:	Naval battle ahoy!
Starring:	Russell Crowe, Paul Bettany, James D'Arcy
Rating:	4/5
IMDB link:	http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0311113/
Tagline:	The Courage To Do The Impossible Lies In The Hearts of Men.
Favourite line:	"England is under threat of invasion, and though we be on the far side of the world, this ship is our home. This ship is England."

Russell Crowe tries his hand at a British accent some years before Robin Hood, and is equally unconvincing.

The plot:
It's the era of the Napoleonic Wars, and a British Captain, Crowe's Capt. Jack Aubrey, is given orders to hunt down a French frigate, right to the coastal borders of Brazil if needs be.
Their first encounter ends in disaster, with the British vessel outflanked and outgunned. A second attempt fares no better, and it transpires that the British vessel has little chance of success, the French craft superior in both design and technology. But Aubrey is a man possessed, determined that he fulfill his duty, no matter the cost to his ship or his crew.

Epically staged, with some real down and dirty battle sequences, both hand to hand and ship to ship, this is a bruising experience.
Whilst some have complained that the feel in general is too dark, it seemed totally in keeping with the tone and content here at Smell the Cult HQ.
As mentioned in the preamble, the only real cause for concern is Crowe's curiously drifting accent, going from the Thames Estuary by way of Melbourne and back again, sometimes in the same sentence.
Still, a small complaint for a fine movie.