Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed

'Life', a wise man once said, 'is far too short to waste time sitting through sequels to films which weren't very good in the first place'. And as anyone on nodding terms with a sense of decency and taste will attest, Scobby-Doo (2002) was not a movie ever likely to be anything more than a diverting novelty for the kids. That an even weaker sequel has been thrown out less than two years after the first one hit cinema screens is more than just disturbing, it's vaguely immoral.

For those of you who care, the Mystery Inc crew - Fred (Prinze Jr), Daphne (Gellar), Velma (Cardellini), and Shaggy (Lillard) - are still uber famous detectives and spend their days whizzing around solving crimes. However, celebrity goes to the group's head and each begins to question their role within the organisation. Before long, though, their home town of Coolsville (ho-hum) has come under attack from a masked villain, who has unleashed all sorts of monsters and demons. The gang have to put their differences aside to save the day before it is too late. Yawn.

Little more than a C grade version of Ghostbusters, Scooby-Doo: Monsters Unleashed rarely troubles fundamental concepts like humour or intelligence. The plot moves with all the grace of a one-legged grizzly bear on ice skates, with the screenwriter displaying an annoying penchant for throwing in the most forced pop culture references. That the special effects and the computer generated Scooby seems to have been the product of work experience kids certainly doesn't help matters either. In truth, plus points are few. Matthew Lillard appears to be having a good time and at least plays Shaggy like the stoner everyone always suspected he was from the cartoon series. Unfortunately that bloody dog is never far behind.