Reviewer's Rating 1 out of 5
The Pacifier (2005)
PGContains mild comic action violence

Vin Diesel swaps beefcake for birthday cake as a Navy SEAL forced to babysit the family of a murdered scientist. Like Schwarzenegger in Kindergarten Cop, he pits his action movie persona against the odious staples of family flicks: dirty nappies, crazy nannies, precocious brats, and slapstick violence. Now and then he gets to rumble with a gang of Serbian ninjas bent on knocking off the rest of the family and recovering daddy's top-secret invention. Basically, it's bilge.

There's something tragic about watching big Vin, the best of the movie muscle divas by a long stretch, abasing himself in this excremental excuse for a comedy. Unlike most of his pumped-up contempories, Vin can act, as he's shown in movies like Boiler Room and the superb sci-fi horror Pitch Black. But those big wounded eyes of his can't hide the pain as he changes yet another toxic diaper or delivers some ghastly homily about family values.

"INCREASINGLY PAINFUL PRATFALLS"

The Pacifier's gimmick is that Diesel uses his military training to transform a dysfunctional gang of moppets into a coherent family unit. So, he teaches the local Firefly troupe some kung fu and slaps down the elder son's wrestling coach (a repulsive, sweaty performance from Brad Garrett), thus proving to the kids that violence really is the best way to solve your problems. One potentially interesting strand, that sees Diesel directing an amateur production of The Sound Of Music, is sadly sidelined in a finale consisting of increasingly painful pratfalls spiced with with an unpleasant undertone of xenophobia. Abysmal.

End Credits

Director: Adam Shankman

Writer: Thomas Lennon, Robert Ben Garant

Stars: Vin Diesel, Faith Ford, Brittany Snow, Max Thieriot, Lauren Graham, Carol Kane, Brad Garrett

Genre: Comedy, Family

Length: 96 minutes

Cinema: 27 May 2005

Country: USA

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