Three out of Five stars
Running time: 96 mins

Enjoyable family adventure, enlivened by terrific performances from Foster and Breslin, though the plot is disappointingly light and the effects are decidedly dodgy.

What's it all about?
Abigail Breslin stars as 11-year-old Nim, who lives on a desert island with her scientist father, Jack (Gerard Butler). When Jack goes missing at sea, Nim turns to the hero of her favourite novels, Indiana Jones-alike adventurer Alex Rover, for help, firing off an email via an impressive satellite internet service.

However, unbeknownst to Nim, Alex Rover is actually Alexandra Rover (Jodie Foster), an agoraphobic novelist who hasn't left her apartment in months. Meanwhile, as Alexandra musters up the courage to travel to the island and rescue Nim (with a little help from her fictional alter-ego, also played by Butler), Nim has her hands full trying to scare away a group of invading Australian tourists with the help of her animal friends (a lizard, a sea lion and a pelican).

The Good
The performances are superb, with Breslin cementing her status as Hollywood's most likeable child star, while Foster displays an unexpected gift for physical comedy, which suggests she could give the likes of Cameron Diaz and Drew Barrymore a run for their money. Indeed, there are several big laughs in the film and they all come from Foster's panicky one-liners and comedy pratfalls.

Butler is fine (despite yet another of the dodgy accents that are fast becoming his trademark), but the film would have been better served if he'd been offscreen for longer, particularly after he gets lost at sea.

The Bad
The film suffers slightly from some dodgy CGI effects, most notably on the pelican and during the shots of Nim climbing a volcano, although the animal effects in general are pretty good. Similarly, the script misses the chance to deliver a properly emotional climax, preferring to play it safe instead, with the result that there's very little in the way of suspense or thrills.

Worth seeing?
Nims Island is a perfectly enjoyable family adventure, though some actual danger might have livened things up a bit.