Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (U)
Dinosaurs ruled the earth for more than 100 million years, but the third instalment of the computer-animated Ice Age series will struggle to reign at the UK box office for more than two weeks.
The colourful follow-up to Ice Age 2: The Meltdown plunders from Jules Verne's A Journey To The Centre Of The Earth as the cuddly critters discover an entire eco-system beneath the ice.
Fearsome predators roam this vast, subterranean kingdom, as well as a daredevil weasel, whose gung-ho antics will coax a chuckle from younger viewers.
Ice Age 3 is certainly bright and breezy, but Carlos Saldanha and Mike Thurmeier's film is the weakest adventure so far, lacking inventive visuals or a clever screenplay to appeal to adults and children.
Sid the sloth yearns for a family of his own so he "appropriates" a nest of dinosaur eggs. When they hatch, their mother roars through the camp carrying off her brood, plus Sid, to her nest.
The sloth's friends, Manny the woolly mammoth and Diego the tiger (Denis Leary), embark on a perilous rescue mission.
They are accompanied by the love of Manny's life, Ellie (Queen Latifah), who is preparing to give birth to their first mini-mammoth.
The quest takes the friends into a mysterious world where the flora is almost as deadly as the fauna and a loveable, one-eyed weasel called Buck (Simon Pegg) is on a mission to hunt a dinosaur called Rudy.
Ice Age 3 screens in 3D at selected cinemas around the UK, but the technology doesn't enhance the experience.
Indeed, visuals look flat for almost the entire 94 minutes. Once again, Scrat the sabre-toothed squirrel steals the show with his relentless pursuit of a tasty acorn.
Rating 3/5
The gang is on another wonderful quest in Ice Age 3
Comment on this story