Marc Loewenthal

Basically, a retread of the first film, with an extensive National Geographic-style documentary about weird species on other worlds thrown into the middle of the film. Predictable, derivative, repetitive, uninspiring and largely forgettable - oh, and far too long. The gung-ho military, the squabbling kids, the stern-faced adults - they've all been done before in human form and are simply boringly stereotypical here. Even the prettiness of the underwater scenes is nothing new as we saw that type of thing fresh in the first film, which at least had a plausible plotline. Don't bother with 3D. It just makes the film darker and adds very little in terms of the visual experience. You'll go and see it anyway. Don't be surprised if you come out underwhelmed.