The Adventurer: The Curse of the Midas Box

There simply isn't a whole lot of excitement being generated in this lackluster family adventure, though it tries oh so very hard.

Meh and double meh on this movie.

The quest for the Midas Box never seems like more than a poor man's plot-engine substitute for Tolkien's One Ring.

The film gradually reveals a lot of unsavory motives, which ultimately deflate the buoyant virtues on which the film had blithely coasted.

The Adventurer: The Curse of the Midas Box is an example of what happens when the filmmakers are less than scrupulous with the story's connective tissue and don't display affinity for the characters.

Forgettable and flat, the film tries and fails at being an adventure that the entire family can enjoy.

As a Part One it effectively disseminates exposition with enough adventure to keep our attention on these characters coming into their own.

Michael Sheen, Lena Heady and Sam Neill are among the big names expecting a franchise, but they'll be lucky to get a mid-morning TV slot, let alone a sequel.

The visually stylish film feels like a combination of elements from other fantasy adventures, yet turns out more muddled and convoluted than suspenseful.

Solid Victorian adventure is too dark for younger kids.