This is like a lot of recent remakes/retellings (Garfield, Dawn of the Dead, Peter Pan, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre), in that it’s really not ideally made for fans of earlier versions: in this case, the TV series. But it’ll be great for kids, I’m sure.

One thing the movie has going for it is handful of excellent casting choices: Ben Kingsley as The Hood seems almost like a no-brainer, and as always, he turns in a great performance; Sophia Myles and Ron Cook are great as Lady Penelope and Parker, both of of whom are onscreen plenty enough to keep the parents from dozing off or slitting their wrists (‘cos though it’s not that bad, when it is bad – can we say Anthony Edwards’ stuttering? – it’s very, very, bad); and Vanessa Anne Hudgens, last seen in Thirteen, provides a neat female presence in the kids’ subplot.

Overall, as good as you’d expect.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 3rd, 2004 at 7:21 am in Movie Reviews, unrated. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.