Entertainment
Strange World review: Disney’s latest adventure is laudably progressive but lacks action-Nicholas Barber-Entertainment – Metro
The main story is about a father-son bond.
Strange World is supposed to be an action-packed comedy adventure (Picture: Disney)
Disney’s latest is an Indiana Jones/Jurassic Park-style adventure in which the intrepid Clade family discover a bizarre hidden world underground.
Jaeger (voiced by Dennis Quaid) is a grizzled Obelix lookalike who lives to explore, while his sensitive son Searcher (Jake Gyllenhaal) just wants to be a farmer.
Searcher’s own teenage son, Ethan (Jaboukie Young-White), would rather follow in grandad’s outsized footsteps and Searcher’s wife, Meridian (Gabrielle Union), is… well, never mind her, because Strange World is all about the Clade men male bonding.
And that’s the problem. The blobby subterranean flora and fauna look fabulous.
And the film is laudably progressive, with its multicultural gay characters and eco message.
But instead of a thrilling story, great jokes or memorable characters, director Don Hall (Moana and Raya And The Last Dragon) concentrates on earnest father-son discussions. A little less conversation, a little more action, please.
Out today in cinemas
More films out this week
Daniel Craig (centre) leads an all-star cast in Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (Picture: John Wilson/Netflix)
Claydream
Only animation nerds will know of Will Vinton, the father of ‘claymation’ – the art of making stop-motion movies with plasticine clay. This fascinating, stranger-than-fiction documentary shines a light on Vinton’s rise in the 1970s to his Oscar-winning heyday, before his bittersweet fall.
Out now on Altitude.film and other digital platforms
Tim Minchin – BACK
If you’re after more Tim Minchin – voila! Here’s a live recording of the wild-haired, piano-playing Australian stand-up comic and Matilda writer with his record-breaking, sell-out stage show, capturing him on top comic form.
Out today in cinemas
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
Expect White Lotus vibes as Daniel Craig, above, returns as ‘the world’s greatest detective’ Benoit Blanc in this ingeniously entertaining whodunnit sequel set on the private island of a tech billionaire (Edward Norton). All-star suspects include Kate Hudson, Janelle Monáe, Dave Bautista and Kathryn Hahn.
Out today for one week only in cinemas, then out Dec 23 on Netflix
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