The Railway Children is one of those works which seems to demand periodic reworking, and this turn-of-the-millennium version comes 30 years after Lionel Jeffries' classic version.
This is good, make no mistake, and comes with a solid recommendation - you will enjoy it. The source material is strong, and there are no missteps in how it is handled. And, of course, it is interesting to see Jenny Agutter playing Mother, having played eldest child Roberta in the preceding version.
And there's the rub. Because you will enjoy this version much more if you have never seen the 1970 version. Where this version is good, Jeffries' version is great. Where the casting is excellent in this version, it doesn't quite reach the pinnacle of casting in the previous film.
This comes over, I fear, as damning with faint praise, and I suppose it is.
This is good, make no mistake, and comes with a solid recommendation - you will enjoy it. The source material is strong, and there are no missteps in how it is handled. And, of course, it is interesting to see Jenny Agutter playing Mother, having played eldest child Roberta in the preceding version.
And there's the rub. Because you will enjoy this version much more if you have never seen the 1970 version. Where this version is good, Jeffries' version is great. Where the casting is excellent in this version, it doesn't quite reach the pinnacle of casting in the previous film.
This comes over, I fear, as damning with faint praise, and I suppose it is.