Last month I had one of those miserable, lingering colds and missed
several screenings while at home convalescing (that's a fancy way of
saying “playing video games”).

Consequently I wasn't able to review two of this month's biggest films,
“Elf” and “Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World.” I hoped to
see both this weekend but had time to see only one, so I picked “Master
and Commander.”

Then I saw Monday's box-office report and said, “Whoops, wrong choice.”

“Elf” opened at No. 2 two weeks ago, then leapfrogged to No. 1 last
weekend, a surprise that may have scuttled “Master and Commander's” run at the Oscar.

So I'm still missing out on the biggest movie story so far this season,
but I can offer a belated review of “Master and Commander.” I'll have to
get back to you on “Elf.”

“Master and Commander” is a fine, handsomely crafted adventure film, but not much more. Russell Crowe plays Captain “Lucky Jack” Aubrey, captain of a British ship during the Napoleonic Wars.

The admiralty orders him to track and sink France's latest warship, the
Acheron, before it rounds the tip of South America and wreaks havoc in the Pacific shipping lanes.

We learn all this in the first two minutes, and the plot never develops
into something more complicated. “Master and Commander” is like a two-hour action sequence, although the pace crawls when the story hits the literal and figurative doldrums.

The story plays, oddly enough, like an episode of classic “Star Trek” on
the high seas. The relationship between Crowe and his scientific best
friend Paul Bettany recalls the relationship between Kirk and Spock, the
impulsive ying to the other's rational yan. Bettany is the ship's doctor
as well, which also links him to Bones McCoy.

Director Peter Weir's attention to historical detail is inspiring. Every
item from ship's canons to the buttons on Crowe's uniform appears
authentic. The naval battles are spectacular: Errol Flynn meets “Saving
Private Ryan” with spotless special effects.
My rating: Three stars