Loosely based on the classic tale by Jonathan Swift, this Jack Black vehicle bears little resemblance to the original novel, as you might imagine. Instead, it uses the premise as a backdrop for a series of comedy set pieces.

OH DEAR: That doesn't look good

One of the best ways to judge a film like this is to tally the number of moments that make you cringe. And here, there are actually very few, despite the potential cringeworthiness posed by the casting of British comedians James Corden and Catherine Tate. In fact, the British supporting cast adds much to this film, in particular Chris O’ Dowd who makes an appealing spoilt child-like baddie, and Emily Blunt, whose princess character is a cut above other roles like this. She is feisty, independent and funny – and she knows what she wants. Blunt plays it with relish, while Billy Connolly makes a welcome addition as the king.

The biggest criticism is reserved for the bizarre inclusion of Brobdingnag – the land of the oversized people. The scenes here are so brief that the whole episode would be better excluded entirely. It has little bearing on the rest of the plot, although it does provide one of the film’s funniest moments, involving Black dressed in dolls’ clothes and a toy soldier…

In a film that sees humour in a giant Jack Black urinating on a miniature palace and a teeny weeny Billy Connolly, you know the level of comedy to expect but ultimately, Gulliver’s Travels is a relatively entertaining family movie, ideal for the Christmas holidays.

It’s been 28 years since groundbreaking Disney flick Tron first hit cinema screens and delighted audiences with its dazzling special effects.

If you don’t remember much about the story, you’ll at least remember the way this science-fantasy movie looked. Starring Jeff Bridges as the hero of a virtual world of gladiatorial-style contests and good guys versus bad guys, abiding memories are of blue and pink neon strip lights.

Well, Bridges is back…and he hasn’t aged a day.

In this sequel, released almost three decades after the original, Kevin Flynn (Bridges) leaves his 7-year-old son Sam (Garrett Hedlund) to return to the Grid – the digital cyber-world of the first film. Jump forward twenty years and Sam goes off in search of his father when Alan Bradley (Bruce Boxleitner), friend and former colleague of his dad’s, informs him of a message he has received. When Sam hacks his way into the Grid, he is immediately plunged into a battle for his life. Can Sam track down his dad and prevent CLU – Flynn’s ‘program’ identity from the first film who has since turned autonomous and evil – from hijacking their plans to return home? They’d better, or humanity’s in serious trouble…

GLOWY THING: Racing bikes on the Grid is sick, dude

Directed by first-timer Joseph Kosinski, Tron: Legacy benefits hugely from the previously uninitiated helmsman’s video game background. Tron: Legacy, much like the first, is essentially a movie version of a video game where effects and action take precedence.

Using the latest technology, Kosinski and collaborators have created a super-advanced, virtual reality world on screen. But the most astonishing achievement is the young version of Jeff Bridges they’ve rendered. It’s the first time a real actor has been recreated on screen using this technology – a mix of motion capture and computer-generated images – and cast opposite the real-life version. Consequently, Tron: Legacy marks an important step forward in movie-making, much like its forerunner in the 80s. But this isn’t its only redeeming feature.

Apart from a very able cast, an involving story, fresh and exciting action sequences and an engaging script incorporating humour, the film’s soundtrack is a masterstroke. Drafting in electro-pop outfit Daft Punk to craft a score that plays almost continuously throughout, the film is imbued with a brooding atmosphere that brings an emotional depth otherwise absent, despite the best efforts of a cast that tries to keep talky moments subdued.

All except Michael Sheen’s turn as Castor, that is. A bizarre but entertaining mix of Ziggy Stardust and David Bowie’s Goblin King in Labyrinth, he’s a flamboyant character that adds colour and interest to the low-key mood right when you want it.

At times, dialogue could use an injection of invention but considering movies like this are usually all about the special effects and little else, there’s really little to complain about. Although knowledge of the original is helpful in understanding and enjoying this follow-up, Tron: Legacy is still a great ride. And it will undoubtedly satisfy all those revisiting the world of Tron for the first time since their childhood.

After Disney-Pixar’s stratospheric success with superhero spoof animation The Incredibles, you’d have thought that superhero subject matter would be off limits to other animation studios. You might imagine they’d be concerned about failing to match up to the double-Academy Award winning CGI spectacular. But, being one of Disney-Pixar’s major rivals in the CGI arena, Dreamworks couldn’t resist.

Presumably concluding that enough time had passed since the initial buzz surrounding the 2004 Pixar predecessor, and spurred on by the ever-increasing proliferation of superhero comic books-turned-movies currently hitting cinema screens, the studio co-owned by Steven Spielberg has decided to put out its own take on the sub-genre.

To be fair, it’s very different to its forerunner, with its central character a somewhat sympathetic, blue-skinned, large-skulled supervillain, instead of the superhero family at the centre of The Incredibles.

"You have a bulbous head." "Well, yours is blue."

As a child, Megamind (Will Ferrell) struggled to step out of the shadow of his do-gooder nemesis, Metro Man (Brad Pitt), who was able to impress teachers and fellow pupils with his charisma, good looks and flying abilities. With Megamind’s powers always getting him into trouble, the big-brained blue-hued boy makes the decision to turn bad. After all, that’s what he’s best at. And so, the long-standing adversarial relationship with Metro Man is born, with superhero continually thwarting supervillain’s dastardly plots, as is customary in the genre.

When Megamind succeeds against all probability in vanquishing his studly foe, he is at first delighted that he can now rule over Metro City unchallenged – until he realises that without his opponent, his life is pointless.

And so, he sets about creating a new superhero to pit himself against. Of course, the plan backfires. When his creation Titan (Jonah Hill) turns bad, Megamind must turn to the good side to save himself, the girl he’s fallen for and the city itself.

Will Ferrell and Jonah Hill bring their unique styles of delivery to their respective characters, injecting humour into lines and scenarios that might otherwise fail to raise a titter. Ferrell’s genuinely amusing voice performance is the undisputed highlight of this animation. Without Ferrell, the film really only has its 3D gimmickry going for it.

The laughter-enducing tones of these two American funnymen, however, serve to highlight the wasted talent of female comedian-of-the-moment Tina Fey whose bland woman-in-peril cartoon-love-interest role is, despite the film’s 3D credentials, two-dimensional and badly-drawn. Not literally, of course, since the animation – as always from Dreamworks – is top notch, if a tad uninspiring.

Kids will no doubt enjoy Megamind as another computer-generated 3D-fest but for parents, it has little to offer save for the talents of two very funny comedy actors.