Cruise can’t save reboot

This uneven, mediocre and, at times, downright dull romp is a poor start for Universal’s new Dark Universe series.

Tom Cruise is fine as the Indiana Jones-esque lead; it’s everything else that’s the problem. Sofia Boutella’s monster lacks menace and fullyfleshed characters take a back seat to wonky magic and sloppy scripting. The demon doll’s seventh outing is one of his worst, and strangest, yet.

Despite being inexplicably given previously unseen powers, Chucky feels more tired than ever and his targets look like they’d rather be elsewhere.

The unbalanced plot hurtles towards an ending that teases a more intriguing eighth entry.