DVD Reviews

The Spiderwick Chronicles

• Rating:
• Director: Mark Waters
• Starring: David Straithairn
• Details: US / 97mins (PG)

Standing out from the current barrage of fantasy-tinted adaptations of children's books - mainly because it's actually quite good - The Spiderwick Chronicles centres on trouble-making twin Jared (Highmore), who is dragged to live in small town nowhere after his mother and father split. Looking to amuse and distract himself from his Daddy issues, he stumbles across a book that once read, unleashes a world of monsters and fairies that somehow leaks into ours. He and his siblings must fight off the evil Mulgarath and his amassed gang of vicious foot-high goblins, to stop them taking over the world. Coming from a similar place as last year's underrated kiddie flick Zathura, Spiderwick offers us many things that the recent influx of fantasy films had seemingly forgotten - the main one being a genuine story amidst the otherworldly effects and whimsical tone. Set in a semi-rational now, the creatures come to our world, not the other way round; so parallels with the likes of Narnia or The Golden Compass are redundant, simply because it's a different kind of film. The contemporary setting creates an intimacy that few other fantasy films had properly explored, while our hero has an identical twin (also played by Highmore) and argumentative sister to bounce off. This is predominantly where the film shines, as the relationship between the three progresses as the tightly condensed plot unfolds - with care, and with a steady hand from a director who found a tone and stuck with it. Highmore may frighten some with the 'manchild' thing, but there's no doubting his acting ability, while Sarah Bolger does a flawless American accent, offering hope that Saoirse Ronan may not be the only young Irish actress vying for the A-list in years to come. Sure, there are plot holes galore and the bad-guy is severely lacking in anything resembling a personality - but this is a film you really shouldn't mind bringing the kids to. Despite its flaws, The Spiderwick Chronicles manages to engross and amuse thoroughly.

Review by Mike Sheridan