Ralph Breaks The Internet '“ the latest films coming to cinemas in the Portsmouth area

RALPH BREAKS THE INTERNET (PG) 

When it comes to a sequel, go bigger or go home.

Rich Moore and Phil Johnston's imaginative and deeply satisfying follow-up to the 2013 feel-good computer animation Wreck-It Ralph achieves the former without straying far from the latter by propelling its coin-operated arcade game characters into the mind-boggling realms of the World Wide Web.

Ralph Breaks The Internet expands its bewildering array of visual targets to include social media behemoths, video sharing portals and online shopping brands plus those irritating advertising pop-ups which multiply like a virulent fungus.

The naivete of candy-coloured characters in their new home is mined for a steady stream of laughs.

A savvy, warm-hearted script credited to co-director Johnston and Pamela Ribon is punctuated by cautionary notes about viruses, the dark web and trolls.

'˜First rule of the internet: Don't read the comments!' observes one guardian of the digital realm.

Filmmakers responsible for Ralph Breaks The Internet can ignore these sage words: comments for their briskly paced adventure should be overwhelmingly positive.

Vanellope von Schweetz hurriedly abandons her Sugar Rush game when a young girl accidentally sheers off the steering wheel during a race.

A replacement part is too costly for arcade owner Mr Litwak (Ed O'Neill) and he turns off the machine. While the denizens of Sugar Rush are rehoused in other games, Ralph and Vanellope find a steering wheel on an auction website and have 24 hours to raise just over 27,000 US dollars to honour their outlandish bid.

Ralph raises funds as an intent meme star on the Buzzztube channel run by algorithm Yesss (Taraji P Henson), and Vanellope puts the pedal to the metal in a Grand Theft Auto-esque game called Slaughter Race, which is the digitised dominion of sassy petrol head Shank (Gal Gadot).

Ralph Breaks The Internet warms the cockles of our hearts then breaks them in tiny pieces with a sob-inducing finale that cleverly nods to the 1980s arcade classic Donkey Kong.

A wealth of visual gags demands a second viewing and a protracted interlude in the Oh My Disney! fan site is a self-referential hoot.

We emerge from the cinema with similarly broad grins and tear-glistened cheeks.

Released November 30. 

 

CREED II (12A)

Deep-rooted nostalgia for Rocky fails to deliver a knockout blow in the eighth instalment of the long-running series.

Co-written by Sylvester Stallone, Creed II unleashes the same flurry of emotional jabs as its brawny predecessor but these slick moves fail to connect squarely in a sequel that hankers for the past.

Director Steven Caple Jr choreographs impressive sweat-drenched fight sequences between leading man Michael B Jordan and real-life German boxer Florian Munteanu. 

The film is on sure footing and there are familiar bursts of adrenaline for us as well as the characters as they dig deep to overcome dizzying blows and achieve glorious destinies. 

Released November 30. 

 

ROBIN HOOD (12A) 

The men are far from merry in director Otto Bathurst's gung-ho action adventure, which canters through the blood-soaked origins of the English folk hero before he gives serious thought to riding through glens or stealing from the rich.

Action set pieces are reminiscent of the Assassin's Creed video games, employing slow-motion to excess as leading man Taron Egerton performs bone-crunching leaps and somersaults while firing arrows with his trusty bow.

Away from the testosterone-fuelled destruction, the script allows Egerton to recycle his charm and swagger from the Kingsman films. 

Out now.