The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl

Fans of maverick director Robert Rodriguez value his ability to write, direct, film, produce, edit and score as the mark of the micro-manager supreme.

However, this hands-on approach (his seven-year-old son Racer Max is even credited with creating the characters) - can smack to the uninitiated as the work of, well, a control freak determined to keep it in the family.

Without anybody else to temper Rodriguez's excesses, he runs the risk of getting carried away with the considerable powers at his disposal.

And this appears to be what has happened here - it's probably his most incoherent mainstream movie yet...which is not a good thing for a kids' film.

Ten-year-old Max (Cayden Boyd) has become lost in his own fantasy world to blot out his parents' disintegrating marriage and constant bullying at school.

However, he finds himself recruited by the denizens of his dreamworld - Shark Boy and Lava Girl - to rescue Planet Drool from the nightmarish Mr Electric.

It probably doesn't help that Shark Boy and Lava Girl would probably be found nestling near the relegation zone in any superhero league table.

He was brought up by sharks and she... well, Lava Girl's provenance isn't explained but she does spew flames and red-hot rocks from her cuffs.

The story buckles under surreal twists and turns - more Dali than Disney - and the employment of 3-D for well over one hour of the running time makes it look dull and listless.

Rodriguez is capable of great things…but this isn't one of them.

Tim Evans