LAND OF THE LOST (12A)

A REWORKING of the kitsch 1970s television series about a family flung back in time has been retooled as a big-budget showcase for Will Ferrell's peculiar brand of tomfoolery, Land Of The Lost is a little disappointing.

The script and supporting performances, particularly a woefully miscast Anna Friel as a plummy British explorer, are all bargain basement.

The hero of this sorry tale is Dr Rick Marshall (Will Ferrell), who becomes the laughing stock of the scientific community for his outlandish theories on time-warps in his book, My Other Car Is A Time Machine.

He loses funding and is reduced to ‘inspiring’ visitors at a museum where he meets Cambridge graduate Holly Cantrell (Anna Friel).

She shares an exciting archaeological find: a fossilised imprint of a cigarette lighter – an anomaly explained by Rick’s wild suppositions.

The pair venture to the site of the find – the rundown Devil's Cave tourist attraction – in the company of guide Will Stanton (Danny McBride).

A couple of minutes into the water ride, Rick's self-constructed tachyon particle amplifier creates a fissure in space and time and the three adventurers are sucked into a parallel universe ruled by dinosaurs.

Land Of The Lost is a deeply unsatisfying mish-mash of comedy and action that relies on the special effects team to paper over gaping holes in the script.

STAR RATING: **