Only Marvel would follow the blockbuster to end all blockbusters with a lightweight teen vacation flick. The stakes have rarely been lower. The primary concern? Seeing the hero get his girl. What chutzpah to be so old fashioned. It’s audacious as a feat of mechanical regularity above all else. Indeed, give or take the odd surprise, Far From Home is pretty much business as usual. Almost dull even by the initial trick climax. Those hoping for boundaries to be furthered will be disappointed. And yet, this isn’t dull. It’s far from it. If some feel undersold, many more should be pleased to learn that the studio’s still got it – even if ‘it’ has long since felt inessential.
A kind of animated Pudsey the Dog: The Movie, The Queen’s Corgi is pretty banal stuff. It’s a typically innocuous production from Belgian studio nWave – whose Son of Big Foot success was a rare hit. In its defence, The Queen’s Corgi is very well cast and as impressively designed as a film with $20m behind it can be. Beyond visual and vocal panache, however, there’s precious little to write home about here.
When, one day, the big book of Richard Curtis is written, perhaps this will be known as his high concept era. Remember when plots were as simple as literally four weddings and one funeral? No longer. Since those bygone basic days, a dabble in Doctor Who has given way to linearity bending romcom About Time and now Yesterday, which practically science fiction in its exploration of a world without the Beatles. That said, sci-fi is rarely this cute, cuddly, warm and winsome. Nor so lacking in science. Regardless, Curtis’ way with quaint mannerism remains strong and his ear for comedy still tickles all the right bones.
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