MILLIONS (2004)

Woebegone kiddie POV pic manages to miss every target it aims at. Two young brothers find an old sack of stolen cash & try to enjoy it before the currency changes OR their widowed dad finds out OR the actual robber shows up. It sounds like a can’t-miss idea, but the kid performers are blah, at best, and the film bogs down in an elaborately over-stylized/elaborated production (heavy on the pointless CGI). Megger Danny Boyle is trying something far removed from his previous work, but sticks to his usual bludgeoning tactics which never 'get' how kids think. Add in creepy religiosity to the mix (talking Saints, a dead mom on a visit from heaven) and you’ll find he's pandered to just about all the audience groups on any demographic checklist. A charmless concoction.