Film Reviews

Arthur and the Invisibles

• Rating:
• Director: Luc Besson
• Starring: Freddie Highmore
• Details: France / 102mins (PG).

With the critical mauling Besson's latest is getting Stateside, it's easy to forget that a kid's movie is just that - a kid's movie - and any critical dissection proves redundant. The plot is nicked and cobbled together from fairy tales and recent animation: kicking off with a live action section, young Arthur (Highmore), living with his grandmother (Mia Farrow), is despondent to learn that their house is to be repossessed. Discovering that his adventurous grandfather brought Minimoys - tiny, fairy-like creatures - back from Africa and are hiding priceless rubies in their kingdom (which is at the bottom of the garden), Arthur is shrunk down to their size and joins forces with the Minimoys to confront the evil Malthazard (Bowie).If you wanted to rip Arthur And The Invisibles apart, like everything in life, you could: the dubbing is sometimes out of whack, the plot is far too rushed as if it were an epic severely cut back in the editing room, the dialogue comes thick and fast (too thick at times, as some lines are on top of others) and it's not the most original plot in the world. And if you want to be really cynical, you could argue that Besson, heading into self-imposed retirement, has just created a massive nest egg for himself - as the cute Minimoys, their vehicles and their tools are just begging to be made into action figures that you can send away for after collecting tokens on the back of Kellogg's Cornflakes boxes (chi-ching).But kids never seem to tire of this micro universe malarkey and, although Arthur And The Invisibles holds steady to a tried and tested formula, Besson doesn't give boredom a chance to creep in, as he packs in enough action scenes to keep familiarity at a safe distance.

Review by Gavin Burke