Cert – PG, Run-time – 1 hour 59 minutes, Director – Barry Jenkins

Before becoming king of Pride Rock, lion Mufasa (Aaron Pierre) finds himself part of a group of fellow ‘strays’, being hunted down by a pride of lions vengeful lions.

The photorealistic CG animation which makes up Disney’s prequel to their 2019 (non)live-action remake of The Lion King feels somewhat in two minds. On the one hand, they appear to have listened to audience reactions that the expressionless nature of the characters was an issue when it came to emotional impact, on the other they’re clearly aware that the remake made over $1.6 billion worldwide and is one of the highest grossing films of all time. The result is brief glimmers of emotion before going back to the largely blank, photoreal looks which create a wall for any feelings the animal characters might be feeling to run into.

One of my biggest issues with the remake, which generally I thought was fine, was the fact that the nature of the visuals meant that the film felt restricted. Big, colourful musicals numbers such as I Just Can’t Wait To Be King were limited to characters running around a watering hole for three minutes. This is a problem for Mufasa as most of the songs – which themselves are solid thanks to the involvement of Lin-Manuel Miranda – simply show multiple wide shots of characters walking and running across different landscapes while singing. The scenery itself looks good and there’s an undeniable strength to the quality of the animation, but it doesn’t make a proper platform for the musical numbers which feel held back by the visual environment.

Throughout we see a young Mufasa (Braelyn Rankins) separated from his parents after a flood, saved by fellow cub, and future Scar, Taka (Theo Somolu). The two grow up together (now voiced by Aaron Pierre and Kelvin Harrison Jr respectively) and as calls for being the future king of the pride begin to properly enter their minds they must flee the pride after an attack by a group of white lions, seeking vengeance for the death of their leader’s (a very welcome appearance from Mads Mikkelson) son after an earlier attack. As they’re hunted down the pair of adoptive brothers come across fellow lion Sarabi (Tiffany Boone), separated from her own pride and father the king, who accompanying bird Zazu (a wobbly Preston Nyman) is meant to report back to if they can find their way back.

As a whole, the narrative feels occasionally familiar, largely when involved with more talky sequences trying to build-up character dynamics to where they are by the start of The Lion King. At times these moments can feel somewhat forceful, although nothing as clanging as the bordering on funny creation of Pride Rock, and disturb the steady flow of each sequence into the next as the cat-and-mouse (or lion-and-lion) chase through varying terrains plays out. While the villains, largely Mikkelson’s Kiros, might be somewhat plain there’s a clear villainous nature to them, and no other side to the coin. They also make for some of the best moments when simply engaging in confrontation and acting as a threat that you wish would sometimes be more upfront in a moment rather than pushed aside quickly as the central trio find a way to quickly escape.

It means that a number of moments come close to feeling repetitive, and the film slower than it perhaps should be at times. When dealing with its points upfront and moving things along Mufasa is at its best, when it stops to take in a moment it starts to falter – despite this so often being where director Barry Jenkins best succeeds. As a whole the narrative works and holds up, perhaps in part because of its relatively simplistic nature, and there’s enough within Mufasa to see it through, even if it does come across a few bumps along the way. The voice cast do a good job in helping with this, and after hearing that Jenkins directed recordings and assembled them as if they were a radio play I’d be interested in hearing that on its own, hearing the imagination and story, in comparison to what has been paired up with the chain of photorealistic animation.

Much like the 2019 remake, Mufasa: The Lion King suffers from the limiting photorealistic animation. Restricting emotional expression and freedom to drift into further fantasy, the film has its moments but falls flat trying to find itself in longer, dialogue-heavy scenes where the main points are less upfront.

Cert – 15, Run-time – 1 hour 59 minutes, Director – Jaume Collet-Serra

TSA agent Ethan (Taron Egerton) is threatened to let a deadly package onto a Christmas Eve flight, or else the mysterious passenger (Jason Bateman) speaking to him via an earpiece will kill his partner (Sofia Carson).

Carry-On is less Die Hard on cruise control and more Die Hard 2 on cruise control. Not just because of the airport setting, much of which is confined to security where passengers carry-on items are being scanned, but also because of the idea of terrorists plotting to ruin Christmas.

The man behind the scheme, who refutes the terrorist label, credited as Traveler (Jason Bateman) is little-seen throughout the film. Largely confined to the background of moving crowds or shown from the back. For the most part we hear his voice speaking into the ear of Taron Egerton’s TSA agent Ethan. Being encouraged by his recently-pregnant partner (Sofia Carson), who also works at LAX, to go back to police training he’s looking for a promotion. However, his dismissive boss (Dean Norris) says he needs to put in the effort and show that he wants the job. When things don’t go to plan for Traveler, Ethan becomes his blackmail victim, claiming to have a sniper ready to kill his partner if he doesn’t allow a deadly case of novichok onto a Christmas Eve flight.

The relationship between uncertain, yet outwardly calm, Ethan and the antagonist in his ear is certainly no McClane and Gruber, and as a whole the beats of their interactions, and the film as a whole feel very familiar. We’ve seen Carry-On’s arc a number of times and as a whole it means that this iterations feels tired quickly. While throwing in a subplot about LAPD detective Elena Cole (a wasted Danielle Deadwyler) following a track which leads to the airport this strand never has the energy to properly lift off. Instead it quickly falters and feels like out of place padding, which contributes the worst scene of the film in a truly terrible and visually ugly car fight, to simply build-up a character relevant to the third act.

Back in the airport there are some likable moments, largely as we see Egerton properly confront the situation at hand in a more upfront way, taking things into his own hands instead of being lead by Bateman’s character, despite the threatened consequences. Yet, for the sake of keeping the villain in frame and giving control back to him, often things loop back round to the mystery flyer regaining the upper hand and using Ethan as a pawn in his deadly plan, and if he doesn’t play along the whole airport could go down.

The stakes are made clear throughout, although not always felt depending on the circumstance and how far through the film we are, but they do add to the increasing desperation and worry of Egerton’s character who feels consistently out of his depth. The build-up relating to his home life is clearly in place to simply push lightly referenced details on to him to give him something to fight for, the effect they have is similarly light and at times feels forced when the focus of interactions with Carson’s Nora during breaks, where Bateman is still talking to him via the earpiece. Scenes like these help with certain character dynamics but eventually dip back into making Carry-On fall under the weight of its familiarity, and lacking nature when it comes to the overall suspense. It means that the film falls and struggles to find its own footing, following that steadily paved by other films and feeling almost like a copy of those instead.

References to Die Hard and its sequel are impossible not to make as Carry-On borrows from their formula and leads to a tired and familiar festive thriller that never quite captures the action or suspense that it wants.

Cert – 12, Run-time – 2 hours 14 minutes, Director – Kenji Kamiyama

When the throne of Rohan is challenged by the vengeful leader (Luke Pasqualino) of a rival people, the king’s (Brian Cox) daughter, Héra (Gaia Wise), leads the defence while their people hide away in a surrounded mountain fortress.

It’s been widely reported that The War Of The Rohirrim was rushed into production so that New Line Cinema could keep the film rights to adapt the works of J.R.R. Tolkien. Yet, this anime fantasy set in the same world as Peter Jackson’s live-action trilogy features credits for a number of returning names, with the archives from those films having been opened up to the filmmakers here. The dramatic fantasy is enhanced by the detail of the animation and creates a film which feels the opposite of a cash-grab.

Based on appendices from Tolkien’s books, The War Of The Rohirrim follows Héra (Gaia Wise), the daughter of the king of Rohan; the brilliantly named Helm Hammerhand (Brian Cox). After killing a rival leader (Shaun Dooley) who seeks to usurp the throne, his son, Wulf (Luke Pasqualino), a childhood friend of Héra, seeks vengeance, and doesn’t hold back on his near-instant attacks. Whether fights involve fists, swords or entire armies the framing of each sequence is undeniably cinematic. There’s a thrilling sense of scale which makes the most of the big screen and the animation style in general.

At times the visual nature of certain scenes and creatures calls back to animated fantasies of the 70s and 80s, Ralph Bakshi – who had his own take on The Lord Of The Rings – comes to mind. Much of the run-time is made up of action, or building up to a major battle. As the people of Rohan suffer fiery attacks from Wulf and the ‘wildmen’ of the Dunlendings they escape to the mountain fortress of the Hornberg. Tension escalates as we see the progression of Wulf and his men’s attempt to stage a siege, especially as all suffer a harsh winter. As these events unfold director Kenji Kamiyama brings in a strong sense of atmosphere to the film as a whole. Adding to the overall suspense that the film’s events hold, moving from one event to the next with ease.

At almost two-and-a-quarter hours the run-time does begin to feel long as the third act unfolds and while there’s still enjoyment to be found in the increasingly upfront and angered clashes and the ideas which crop up within them. What helps things move along is the fact that they rarely feel as if they’re trying to build up to or reference Jackson’s trilogy, taking place almost 200 years after the events of this film. One or two moments crop up here and there, some more clanging than others, but as a whole this works as an effective appendix adaptation following a traditional rival-armies outline.

One which is effectively led by Héra at the centre of the action. With Gaia Wise providing a voice performance which captures a determined and headstrong character, particularly the more the film goes on. As a whole the voice cast appears to improve as things develop, moving on from the feeling that most are simply audio acting rather than acting for animation or film, aside from Brian Cox who gives an enjoyable, increasingly bellowing performance throughout. The elements quickly come together and make for a frequently fantastic return to this iteration of Middle Earth, if in a different form; one which brings a lot to the overall tone of the fantasy and tension at hand.

While it might begin to feel overlong there’s still plenty to enjoy about the suspenseful action and spectacle of The Lord Of The Rings: The War Of The Rohirrim’s traditional fantasy clash.

Cert – PG, Run-time – 1 hour 32 minutes, Director – Simon Otto

After a major snowstorm the small town of Wellington-On-Sea sees its residents separated over Christmas, however while Santa (Brian Cox) also struggles with the weather he may be the one to help.

Richard Curtis loves a multi-story Christmas flick which loosely brings its characters together in various ways. Adapted from his children’s book series, with a screenplay co-written by Curtis and Peter Souter, That Christmas feels like four short films have been stuck together with the loose connection of all being set in the fictional town of Wellington-On-Sea. After a major snowstorm, which only happens overnight and means that people can’t drive but they still seem to be able to get out of their houses perfectly fine, the various residents of the town find themselves separated from each other in various ways over the holiday.

Whether it be new-in-town Danny (Jack Wisniewski) and his recently-divorced nurse mum (Jodie Whittaker), who gets called away due to be being the closest person on call who can walk to care for someone, or teenage Bernadette (India Brown), leading a revolution of creating new ways to embrace tired family traditions with the group of kids she’s left to look after when he parents (Rhys Darby, Lolly Adefope) are stranded with friends on an overturned van on a frozen lake, the extent to which people embrace this separation is large. The storm even causes issues for Santa (Brian Cox – offering a very infrequent narration for the film) as he and his one reindeer (Guz Khan) struggle to get through the weather, but could be the only ones to help the folk of Wellington-On-Sea at this time.

Even at just 92-minutes, including credits, the film feels somewhat stretched when it comes to its various ideas. Certainly, we’ve seen a handful of them before, and here there’s not entirely a festive comfort to that familiarity, but there are one or two light chuckles to help things along. Things might start of tentatively, but once the introductory school nativity begins there are a few laughs to be found to ease into the moment and gradually alleviate the cringe-inducing nature which things initially kick off with. There are still some moments which you can’t help but wince at here and there, particularly in regards to a number of crowbarred gags and references to inclusivity, largely from Bernadette, who stages the nativity, changing the shepherds to organic farmers – although getting a chuckle as they carry with them broccoli, sweetcorn, aubergines and a chickpea – and some young characters’ apparent addiction to their phones and social media.

There are some nice moments between Danny and his mum, who leaves constant reminders and messages to him on post-it notes covering the walls and furniture of their home, and twin Sam (Zazie Hayhurst) makes for a likable character, worrying that her sister, Charlie (Sienna Sayer) is going to be put on the naughty list. How well the intended emotional beats come through might be a bit different as most seem to be lost amongst the lighter, more comedic edges which while trying to embrace a family audience largely skew towards younger viewers in tone and style – the animation is a very safe, Disney-lite style, and a tone and humour which borders often on Aardman-lite. Even a moment dwelling on the idea of Christmas being a time to “celebrate the wins, and live with the losses” is extremely brief as it feels in a rush to make its point that it gets little time to linger and have a proper effect, as if the film simply doesn’t want to dwell on it.

The conflict of a stretched-out rush is present throughout much of the short run-time, particularly in the tonal shifts. But, as a whole, there are enough chuckles and nice moments between characters – one conversation about Wine Gums between Danny and Sam outside her family shop is a warm highlight – to see it through and make for occasionally amusing, and not too difficult, viewing. This may not turn out to be a future Christmas classic like other Richard Curtis linked projects – Love Actually is cited in a scene which implies that parents make their children watch it each year, presumably in an edited version which doesn’t feature strands involving Kris Marshall, Martin Freeman, Joanna Page and some of Alan Rickman and Bill Nighy – but for what it is, for this Christmas, That Christmas turns out to do enough, even if it could push itself more, to amuse for 90-minutes this festive season.

It might not be the most original film, and its tonal shifts can sometimes feel rushed, but there’s enough chuckles within That Christmas’ playful narrative/s to help it along and make for amusing family viewing for another year.