Insult to legacy of the franchise. Mediocre at best

Rating: 4/10 (19 June 2015)

I can't believe Spielberg would sign off on this movie. I honestly can't. Just for sake of transparency let's go back to year 1993. Computer animation was just taking off, animatronics was about the only viable option and naturally on location shoots and heart and soul that went into creating what we now know as classic. Skip ahead a few years and we got a sequel. On the heels of the original, this one failed to impress with same grandeur but it has done well enough for an honorable mention. And then they tried to fix all of their mistakes in movie #3. If it was not for Sam Neil dragging movie by the scruff, I think it would have been a flop. So we went from 1993, 1997 and 2001. You would have thought that after so many years (22 to be exact), they would have had the decency to produce something more than a mediocre flick.
OK so animation was there... tell us something new... these days computer animation and green screen is not only the norm but people are too lazy to travel around the world making some movies entirely in the hangar of Hollywood. It would work for something like an Avatar with its Pocahontas storyline but Cameron spared no expense and crossed all t's and dotted the i's.
With prevalence of CGI we were expecting a story line, which never came. Acting was absolutely atrocious and when I say that, I am actually being generous. Control room staff was beyond belief... as if they literally picked them off a starbucks line and said... "just sit there and say this really stupid line".
Naturally the muscle of the movie with military inclination was completely unbelievable. It was not a typical macho super muscular played by some former US marine... no we got stuck with Vincent D'onforio... as if while scraping bottom of the barrel they found him sitting there with a puppy eye look just begging for a role. I don't know who's back he had to scratch but his contribution to the movie or lack of there of was evident in both his dialogue and character development.
And then we have the boys... especially the older one. I honestly got tired of rolling my eyes in the movie theater.
Lady Bryce was absolutely and totally out of place. Poor casting choice there. At the very least poor character story line in every single sense of the way.
This movie has failed to deliver. It is an insult to the franchise. In this day and age you would expect that movie #4 that was built upon legacy of a cult classic would have given an honest effort. In reality this was barely watchable. Yeah I heard a few chuckles in the audience but those were in regards to little boy saying something funny every now and then. Audience never so much let out a peep.
I think Spielberg has lost his focus. Ever since he went into being a mr fancy pants, his movies have been atrocious. Without his directing and without his vision... these directors and producers really behave like three blind mice just running around the box flinging stuff at walls hoping it would stick.
Spielberg... you have lost your credibility by signing off on this movie.
If you read other reviews, they will go in depth as to why this movie failed to deliver. I honestly can't find the words in me to say anything more... I am so livid.