Good family movie

Rating: 5/10 (6 June 2011)

Well, lets start with the good. Special effects were fantastic, as you would expect from this kind of film, locations were wonderful and beautifully shot, and as a prequel, it ticked all the required boxes, however, and yes there is a but....
BUT - the film never got you to a point where you actually cared about the characters. Sure, it fleshed out who they were and where they came from and what events made them what we saw in the previous two films, however, in this movie you just felt no real empathy for them.
This is not to say it was the actors fault, rather the direction, and the amount of ground they were trying to cover, while weaving in a plot that could be some what credible seemed to just bounce from place to place, and point to point without letting us get to any personal depth with the players.
So, for folks that love the franchise, then yep, you will enjoy this movie, for those who are wowed by special effects, again, great. But for those of you who want to care about the characters and what happens to them, not so much.