Lost in Space

It's an axiom of modern SFX-dominated blockbusters - and this spin-off from the '60s TV series (itself a reworking of Swiss Family Robinson) boasts 750 such effects - that story and characterisation limp along in the rear. And despite the hard work of Hurt (as Prof Robinson who is rocketed with his family on a ten-year journey to Alpha Prime for a colonisation recce), deadpanning LeBlanc (his cocky top-gun captain Don West), and villainous Oldman (mad stowaway saboteur Dr Zachary Smith), this proves the rule. The response of a family under duress (while avoiding a collision with the sun, they get lost in deep space and time the other side of the 'Hyper Space Gate') is addressed in only token fashion. Most effort has gone into the impressive Star Wars-style opening dogfight and the edge-of-your-seat closing sequences, leaving a drawn out mid-section on the ship, with only a standard mutant insect invasion to pass the time.