In April 1805, Napoleon rules Europe. British frigate H.M.S. Surprise under the command of Captain Jack Aubrey (Russell Crowe) is ordered to intercept French Privateer Acheron. In the first battle, Aubrey quickly discovers that Acheron is actually bigger, faster and more powerful skippered by a smart tactician. He escapes only through his skills and experience. After being soundly beaten, Aubrey decides to keep going instead of returning to base to refit. The ship's surgeon and Aubrey's friend Dr. Stephen Maturin (Paul Bettany) clash with him more and more as the far ranging battle continues.

The action is exciting and more realistic than sail seafaring battle movies before it. The most compelling are the splinters that fly everywhere. It is the CGI that pushes the envelop on this action. Realism is everywhere. It is dirty, ugly, bloody, and horrifying. Russell Crowe delivers a solid performance to anchor this movie in reality. Then there are the everyday things that happen in between the battles. This has the epic scale conflicts but the human size struggle.