There's an inherent logistical problem when it takes almost 10 years for a studio to develop a sequel to a kid's movie featuring live-action talking animals: the obviously young audience that initially flocked to theaters with parents in tow are now teenagers who are probably unlikely to be caught dead anywhere near such silly and childish fare. Grade: F.  

Richard Kelly certainly doesn't suffer from a lack of ambition. His latest apocalyptic thriller — after the cult-ratified 'Donnie Darko' (2001) and the willfully obtuse 'Southland Tales' (2006), neither of which did squat upon their initial theatrical releases — is rife with impressive production design, a genuine sense of creepy foreboding and an overarching seriousness rare in a contemporary genre film. The guy no doubt knows his Stanley Kubrick and Alfred Hitchcock. Grade: C plus.