Mechanical and formulaic trash

Rating: 2/10 (16 December 2011)

Don't be fooled by the star names and big budget expenditure, this film is a dud. It lazily follows a checklist from successful 'one-off' films that deserved the acclaim they generated. The formula used here - just in case you want to know what icons have been ripped off: Lead role played by bright blue-eyed boy like in Lord of the Rings. Check. Semi-illustrated city landscape like in The Illusionist. Check. Kooky young female character with bad haircut like in Amelie. Check. Lots of bumping into things and lost bits and pieces like a junk yard - you know as in MicMacs. Check. Disabled character in a leg brace like in Bellevue Rendezvous. Check. Uniformed officer like Officer Crabtree in 'Allo 'Allo. Check. Big name actors....you got it!Check. Unfortunately, none of this works because the screenplay is absolute pants; the direction is directionless; the acting wooden; the whole concept from beginning to end just plain fails. A waste of time and effort - in the making and the watching. It rates a 2* only for the occasional cinematic effects that are truly wasted on this non-event of a movie plus the use of mini clips of real archive film (marvellous).