mcm2204

I lasted about ten minutes (painfully) but then had to quit. Literally one of the worst pieces of movie media I've ever seen. Dull, nonsensical, poorly written, poorly acted, poorly conceived.. just poor in every way imaginable. Just refer yourself to one of the TV adaptations (the BBC one is good), the 1950s classic or even the Spielberg effort.

The film is entertaining enough and improves in the final third when it moves away from the plot retread of the first film. And here lies the issue; it simply does not compare to the first film. Mescal does not have the fierce gravitas of Russell Crowe and he isn't helped by having to repeat some of the earlier films dialog.

For British viewers the appearance of Matt Lucas (Little Britain) and Tim Mcinnerny (Blackadder) is faintly ludicrous and makes it feel like Carry On Gladiator.

Can we also mention the monkey dog thing and the sharks? Really?

Overall a partial misfire and may appeal more to those with no knowledge of the power of the first film,

The film seems made by 8 year olds for an 8 year old audience, like a particularly bad episode of Goosebumps. At several points in the cinema it brought unintentional laughs out of the audience. The acting performances were either flat or inept with the main female character (Susan) being gratingly annoying and the main male character (Ben) having the charisma of a plank. Starmer is laughable especially compared to the original performance by James Mason. Generously giving 2 stars for a few striking pieces of cinematography to include a street scene and a scene at the drive-in plus including Sundown by Gordon Lightfoot. The 1979 TV series did this better on a limited budget and without the advantage of modern technology.