Back in 1994, Brian Levant brought The Flintstones live action feature to the big screen and it looked like it was going to be a big hit. Although it did break 100 million dollars at the box-office, it's funny how no one ever admits to liking it. I thought the film was a big bore, despite the great casting and wonderful art direction. Levant returns with this prequel--minus John Goodman and all the other leads from the first film.

This new comical adventure chronicles the earlier years of Fred and Barney as they meet Wilma and Betty for the first time.

Once again, the film offers spectacular art direction. This time out, Mark Addy (The Full Monty) plays Fred and although he doesn't have the energetic charisma of Goodman, he gets the job done. Stephen Baldwin (The Usual Suspects) and Jane Krakowski (Ally McBeal) fare much better as Barney and Betty. Kristen Johnson (Third Rock from the Sun) is horribly miscast as Wilma.

First and foremost, this outing is strictly for the kids. Most of the jokes will fall flat for the adults in the audience--which was certainly the case in the original. The old cartoons had a broader appeal. This film attempts to win us over with The Flintstones name alone, failing to capture the magic that made us love these characters in the first place. Big fans of the cartoons will get a kick out of the introduction of the alien Gazoo, but this is just a gimmick in the plot that doesn't go anywhere.

The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas is just another in a long line of T.V. adaptations that never should have been attempted. It's a boring piece of pop culture that I'll try to forget. What more could you realistically expect from the director of Problem Child.