This was a good film. It just wasn’t a great film. It was fun. The characters were interesting and didn’t always behave themselves. Relationships with men and with each other went under the microscope. One very good scene had Tilly Scott Pedersen as au pair Uta and Cloris Leachman as housekeeper Maggie dissecting their employers’ shouting match. Characters went through hell and back again. And at the end, I felt like I’d been in the cinema for 2 hours. I hadn’t been transported into their world. I had laughed out loud a few times, but I didn’t feel like I’d been to see a comedy. It’s not really a drama, either, although it had dramatic moments.

Gals, I do think you will enjoy this movie. It won’t change your life, but it will occupy an evening. You don’t need to rush out to see it, just add it to your rental list.

However, all that said, I don’t know about Wanting To Believe, but I Wanted To Like It, so my overall impressions by the end credits were positive.

A movie based on a TV series occurring this long after the series has ended is almost bound to play for the nostalgic appeal and in a sense I thought it brave of Chris Carter to resist that and tell this more straightforward story with character interest at its core. I say ‘in a sense’ because for fans of the show, there is strong nostalgic appeal to be found, in the movie’s echoes of Beyond The Sea, the season one episode in which Mulder and Scully (especially Scully) are obliged to seek guidance from an unsavory individual who claims psychic powers, as they engage in a desperate hunt for a serial killer (Luther Lee Boggs even gets a mention here). And it’s perhaps no coincidence that I ended up liking this movie, because Beyond The Sea is quite simply my favorite X Files episode. There are crucial differences: this is more gruesome and there’s a further twist to what presents itself for the most part as a serial killer hunt; and the emotional weight can’t quite match that in Beyond The Sea, in which Scully is dealing with the loss of her father, but the movie does its best to make things personal – moreso for Scully than for Mulder. There’s a surprise appearance from… someone whose identity I guess I’d better not reveal. There’s also an echo of Our Town, in which Mulder saves Scully’s head from the chopping block, but perhaps the less said about that the better. Oops, too late.

But this is one of those cases where some spoilers may actually be beneficial – although even if you know in advance there will be no aliens, you may still leave disappointed – and you could certainly be forgiven for that: aliens are probably No. 1 in the list of strange phenomena you might associate with the series. But to be honest, the most paranormal element on show in this movie is how damn well the two leads have aged. They must be on something.

Ultimately, despite the fact that I personally liked it, you may prefer to catch up with it on the small screen. There’s nothing that really marks it out as big-screen material, other than, perhaps, the appeal of seeing a larger than life Gillian Anderson. Which, hand on heart, is not the real reason I liked this movie. Honest.

In contrast with Hancock, this almost takes on too much in the way of story and ends up being on the lengthy side, but long films are less of a problem when they grip the attention and don’t let go. Of course, the main feature that really has you sitting up and paying attention is Heath Ledger’s Joker, surely the scariest, most convincing villain in clown make-up ever.

Gone is the flamboyant and theatrical madcap comic-book character so wonderfully brought to life by Jack Nicholson, and in his place we have this brutal, brilliantly twisted psychopath who commands the screen (even, dare I say it, appearing in a nurse’s outfit!) whenever he’s on it – and, with his ‘jokes’ generally taking the form of sadistic social experiments, makes his presence felt substantially when he’s not.

The way in which Two-Face’s origin story is threaded through all this is pure craft, a truly gruesome (faint-hearted, be warned) looking villain emerging from one of these social experiments of the Joker’s and a hard, hard choice made by Batman himself. In fact, the movie is something of a social experiment at heart, all about the extremes we might be expected to tolerate in the face of a threat and the extent to which we still view Batman as a hero come the end.

Politically speaking, that might make for some uncomfortable viewing for some, but Morgan (appropriately named) Freeman stands up for our civil rights and draws the line at phone tapping and, when it comes to ‘necessary evils’ I’m more comfortable with the idea of Batman out there beating up bad guys than I am with George W Bush doing the same, allegedly for my protection. But I only mention this to illustrate the adult themes and nature at work here, mainly because it boggled the mind to see toys and kid-friendly merchandise in the window of Woolworths timed to coincide with the film’s release. The kids may enjoy seeing Batman duff up the bad guys, but this movie struck me as not only too violent but a little too ‘cerebral’. But don’t worry, it’s a film with more than enough top-grade action to entertain at least as much as it makes you think.

Downsides: well, for continuity’s sake, we perhaps could have done with Katie Holmes reprising her role in place of Maggie Gyllenhall, but she does a capable job as the love interest; and Two-Face’s opportunity to shine as a villain is all too brief, but the emphasis is very much on the tragedy rather than the villainy. And besides, as I think I might have mentioned, this really is the Joker’s movie and in the end the greatest shame is that we won’t be seeing his return.

This is a film that does what it says on the tin. It’s an old-fashioned adventure with a healthy dose of comedy. It’s done to a very high standard by cast and crew, and is a thoroughly enjoyable romp. It’s in a different category from the many superhero films we’ve been seeing this summer, but compared to it’s nearest rival Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull , this is a more even and more satisfying two hours. Plus it’s got plenty of girl power! Queens, this is one you can take your King to and both have a great time.

The film is of the rat-gets-flushed-down-the-toilet-and-has- to-find-his-way-back-home genre, and it is led by an amazing range of voice talent. Hugh Jackman is the unlikely hero Roddy, a posh, pampered pet from Kensington. Kate Winslet is the heroine Rita, a real role model, as Kate puts it. She’s clever, courageous, and she has style. The evil Toad is voiced by the unsurpassable Sir Ian McKellen and his cousin Le Frog is the best thing to come out of France since champagne, Jean Reno. As The Toad’s henchmen, Bill Nighy (yes, the incredible Bill Nighy) and Andy Serkis (you know, Gollum/Smeagol) are spot-on. Any film would be blessed with a cast like this. But this isn’t just any film. This is an Aardman Studios film.

So in addition to a red carpet full of talent, you should expect a good script (which this film has), animation so adroit you forget it’s not real (you will - even though this time the animation was done by computer, it retains the distinctive look of an Aardman production), and laugh-out-loud jokes (oh, yes!). Favorite bits: (1) the slugs, (2) the mime, (3) the rest of the film. So what if the rats don’t look much like rats (you think Mickey really looks like a mouse?). You’ve got singing slugs!

In my book, the world’s most perfect film is Wallace and Gromit and the Curse of the Were-Rabbit. This film fails to unseat the King of Comedy (Were-Rabbit has Wallace and Gromit; Flushed merely has brief references to the famous pair) but this is perhaps the world’s second most perfect film. And like Wallace and Gromit, you can share this film with the whole family, proving that “family friendly” needn’t mean “boring for adults.”

Buy it. See it. Love it.