Film Review #8 'Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang'

"In Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang, Oscar®-winning actress and screenwriter Emma Thompson returns to the role of the magical nanny who appears when she’s needed the most and wanted the least in the next chapter of the hilarious and heartwarming fable that has enchanted children around the world.

In the latest installment, Nanny McPhee appears at the door of a harried young mother, Mrs. Isabel Green (Maggie Gyllenhaal), who is trying to run the family farm while her husband is away at war. But once she’s arrived, Nanny McPhee discovers that Mrs. Green’s children are fighting a war of their own against two spoiled city cousins who have just moved in and refuse to leave.

Relying on everything from a flying motorcycle and a statue that comes to life to a tree-climbing piglet and a baby elephant who turns up in the oddest places, Nanny McPhee uses her magic to teach her mischievous charges five new lessons." - Plot taken from uk.hollywood.com

I am in the middle of writing this weeks Sunday Self Secrets but it's taking longer than I thought, so here instead is a review of Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang which I saw with my mum last Wednesday. The first one is my mum's favourite feel good movie. Whenever she feels alone (which is a lot now we're all grown up and my dad works away from home) she sits and watches it then texts me and my sister to say she's watched it. So of course when I heard there was to be a sequel I asked my mum to come and visit so we could go and see it together. For me it's been a long time since I watched the first one so I couldn't remember much about what Nanny McPhee does but I still enjoyed it.

I originally thought it was an all British cast much like what they tried to do with Harry Potter so I was surprised when Maggie Gyllenhaal walked onto the screen as Mrs Green, but I can say I was pleasantly surprised. You could tell she wasn't really British but she was fun, energetic and reminded me much of what my mother was like when I was growing up. She grated on me so much in The Dark Knight but she was great as Mrs Green, however she loses a point for being married to the beautiful Ewan Mcgregor. Emma Thomson was of course her usual excellent self as Nanny McPhee. She is so diverse and plays such excellent roles, I would definitely have to say she's one of my favourite British actresses. Rhys Ifans plays the bad guy, although he's more funny than bad, which is what he should be in a kids film. Ralph Fiennes makes a brief appearance playing a hard nut uncle. Now onto the kids, who are of course the whole hinge of Nanny McPhee films. I still can't decide if I liked them better than the kids in the original Nanny McPhee film. I did love Cyrill and Celia's back story and the youngest one Vincent was really sweet. Their acting was excellent. I always find it so surprising that every other child star in a film can act so much better than the kids in Harry Potter.

Overall the film was enjoyable, no doubt my mother will be adding it to her feel good films list when it's out on dvd and I'll end up watching it every time I'm home for Christmas. The only bad point for me was the fact I went to see it on an Orange Wednesday during a school holiday. It was an absolute nightmare with a kid talking right through it next to my mum (who said she loved that but I think it's due to her working in a preschool) and a kid behind me kicking my chair. Apart from that it was a light hearted, easy to watch childrens film. The story was easy to follow, the characters likeable but it was something a bit to young to fully enjoy. It was quite predictable, but then hey, what children's films aren't?

Best Moment: The end, both my mum and I got choaked up.
Best Line: 'Small C, Big P" - Nanny McPhee
Would Recommend For: Children, the young at heart
Rating: 5/10