A war epic ‘masterpiece’ with great Rotten Tomatoes score is on TV tonight

Still waiting on a sequel.

The incredible war epic Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World is our pick of this evening’s choices, and over two decades later it still makes us sad it never got a sequel.

Coming off the back of his huge success in Gladiator, Russell Crowe lined up his next role as the brash British captain Jack Aubrey, leading his ship in pursuit of a formidable French war vessel around South America.

Alongside Crowe in the 2003 flick is his A Beautiful Mind co-star Paul Bettany as the ship’s surgeon, striking up one of the best on-screen duos in recent history.

Based on the books of Patrick O’Brian, of which there are 20, Master and Commander was perfectly set up for a long franchise.

However, despite its critical acclaim, its run in at the box office raked in far less than expected and was overshadowed by The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, meaning any sequels were dead in the water.

While we sit in prayer that it gets picked up for a return in some shape of form, get watching it on Film Four at 6.20pm. If you miss that, you can also watch it on Disney+.

Here are the rest of the movies on TV tonight.

Police Academy – Comedy Central – 9pm

Steve Guttenberg, Kim Cattrall, and G.W. Bailey star in the iconic comedy which spawned no less than six sequels.

Red Heat – ITV4 – 9pm

1988 American buddy cop action comedy starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jim Belushi.

Just Mercy – BBC2 – 11.15pm

Biographical legal drama starring Michael B. Jordan as Bryan Stevenson, a social justice activist and lawyer who represented poor people on death row in the American South.

Bram Stoker’s Dracula – Film Four – 12.55am

Classic horror film adaptation of the Irish author’s novel, starring the incredible Gary Oldman as the bloodthirsty vampire.