This vivisection is not a problem for those who read Patrick O'Brian's novels, great adventures in storytelling and characterization, with wonderful ingenuities of plot. O'Brian wrote 20 of these, and there are those who, reaching the 20th, go back to the first and just start the whole cycle again, as, a generation or two ago, some readers treated the novels of Anthony Trollope.
The sweep of the film is especially engrossing, one assumes, for those who find the sea alluring, but "Master and Commander" is studded with enough drama, poignancy and excitement to overwhelm even the tumultuous oceans. There is a child midshipman, beautfully played, who is an aspirant naturalist. Together with Dr. Maturin, the fabled aide and friend of the captain, the kid is captivated by the sight of the least insect or lizard. These are plentifully there when the ship dallies in the Galapagos Islands. Dr. Maturin is hit by a bullet gone astray and takes over the surgical challenge of removing it, using a mirror to guide him.
From time to time the two men, the captain and the surgeon, meet in the great cabin of the master and commander to play music, a cello and violin. In a final scene of galvanizing charm, Maturin takes his cello athwartwise and strums it like a guitar, bringing to a close a film that everyone must see who has any eye for cinematic art and great adventure.