Simon Dillon reviews the film

For reasons I can't fathom, Robert Zemeckis' new version of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol has been greeted with decidedly lukewarm reviews. This is a great shame, as I found it really enjoyable and satisfying.

To be fair, I can't get enough of A Christmas Carol. Dickens' famous redemption story has been filmed many times, but I always get sucked into the story, regardless of how pedestrian the adaptation. From Alistair Sim's classic 1951 take on the character (still the best version) to the Muppets variation, it's a timeless tale that never seems to get boring. Ebenezer Scrooge's journey from Christmas hating miser to benign benefactor via the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future is one that resonates deeply on every level, especially spiritually.

Zemeckis' version is really Christmas Carol as rollercoaster ride, with motion capture technology utilised to tremendous effect. I appreciate that this "neither animation nor live action" technique is sneered at by some, but I think here it was a good choice. Like Zemeckis' previous motion capture efforts The Polar Express and Beowulf, this will lose about a hundred times the impact if not seen in the cinema.

Jim Carrey is terrific as not only Scrooge but also the Christmas ghosts. There is also fine support from the likes of Gary Oldman (Marley) and Colin Firth (Fred). The adaptation is surprisingly faithful, with much of Dickens dialogue intact. There are a few non Dickens indulgences such as the ghost of Christmas present turning into a kind of rocket (the bit on the posters), but these are generally employed to good effect and to my mind do not detract from the human story, as has been claimed by many critics. Moreover, this is the most explicitly Christian version of this explicitly Christian story yet seen, with many additional elements making the message of redemption from damnation even more obvious. One such moment comes just after Marley's ghost appears where Scrooge briefly sees the souls of the damned in all their misery.

Speaking of which, for all its family friendly Disney trappings, this is also the scariest version of A Christmas Carol yet produced. It is very pleasing indeed that this take returned to the gothic horror elements present in both the novel and in the Alistair Sim version. The ghosts - especially Marley and the ghost of Christmas future - are properly terrifying, so caution is recommended if you're thinking about taking younger children to see it.

All in all, a very entertaining Christmas treat. As for the critics who didn't like it I can only say: Bah humbug!