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Land Of The Lost

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Stars: Will Ferrell, Anna Friel, Danny McBride, Jorma Taccone

Director: Brad Silberling

Rated: PG-13

Runtime: 102 minutes

Comedy/adventure

Will Ferrell dishes up more of his trademark parodic slapstick - but even hardcore fans will struggle to raise a smile at this movie.

He plays Dr. Rick Marshall, a quantum paleontologist who invents a device he claims can warp space and time and transport him to other dimensions.

The scientific community and public ridicule him but a young doctoral student believes his theories and they test his machine, which transports them and a redneck to an alternate universe.

In this lost land of primitive ape men and dinosaurs, Marshall must survive a feud with a furious T-Rex and stop lizard men from taking over the world.

Fans of the original Land Of The Lost TV series will be disappointed. While the movie nods to its characteristics, it has none of its charm.

Ferrell's Indiana Jones spoof ploughs through a script of lowbrow humour that will only appeal to adolescent boys thanks to sexist jokes and gags about urine and taking drugs.

A couple of short scenes involving Matt Lauer are the highlight, with the TV host interrogating Marshall then fending off his attack with a fire extinguisher.

Ferrell is bland and his silly slapstick fails to raise a smile, while the ape man he befriends, Chaka (Jorma Taccone), is irritating and acts like a mentally challenged reject from Planet Of The Apes.

Danny McBride's redneck character Will is fairly likeable but sadly underdeveloped and underused.

British star Anna Friel also gives a decent performance but she deserves better than this.

The dinosaur effects are on a par with Jurassic Park but must have taken up the budget as the lizard men look like cheap Halloween costumes.

Director Brad Silberling has made great movies like Lemony Snicket and Moonlight Mile but this bad to master comedy falls flat.

Ferrell fans looking for the hilarity of Anchorman will be sorely disappointed.

Watch if you liked: Year One, California Man.

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