Son Of The Mask Details

Jim Carrey's 1994 hit The Mask gets a poor sequel courtesy of Cats & Dogs director Lawrence Guterman. This time, the magical Nordic relic falls into the hands of an aspiring cartoonist (Jamie Kennedy), who fathers a son while wearing it. The baby is born with all the literally eye-popping powers of Carrey's original character, turning his dad's world upside down with non-stop cartoon-type mayhem. Although the mixture of live action, special effects and animation demonstrates a certain crude imagination, the sequel can't touch its predecessor's dynamic visual style. In fact, every aspect of this risible comedy is sub-standard in comparison, from the casting to the frequent movie references. Even when sporting the Mask, Kennedy lacks charisma, while his singing and dancing infant looks downright creepy. Throw in an ineffectual villain (Alan Cumming, as the Norse god Loki) and the obligatory fart gag and you've got a barrel-scraping cash-in that feels more like a TV show than a Hollywood picture.

Loud, frantic and dismally unfunny farce that relies on computer-generated special effects rather than anything as hand-crafted as an original joke.