DIARY OF A WIMPY KID 2: RODRICK RULES (U).

Children/Comedy/Romance. Zachary Gordon, Devon Bostick, Steve Zahn, Rachael Harris, Robert Capron, Peyton List, Connor Fielding, Owen Fielding, Laine MacNeil, Grayson Russell, Karan Brar. Director: David Bowers.

Blood may be thicker than water but it can be spilt just as easily and that’s certainly true in Diary Of A Wimpy Kid 2: Rodrick Rules.

Based on Jeff Kinney’s best-selling book, David Bowers’ sequel continues the trials of wise-cracking tyke Greg Heffley, who first exploded to life in a series of online cartoons.

Exploiting his readers’ nostalgia for school days, Kinney sold more than one million copies of his first novel and sold 43 million copies of his five-book series. It unfolds through the eyes of a pre-teen prteen teeteen teen teen teen narrator with delusions of greatness.

Released in summer 2010, the film version of Diary Of A Wimpy Kid lost some of the wit and edginess of the books still struck a chord with audiences despite an unsympathetic and selfish lead character. Thankfully, Bowers’ film presents us with a far more endearing hero to root for.

Sibling rivalry underpins the first hour before a contrived sequence that forces the brothers to fib for each other ultimately lays the foundations for a truly lasting friendship.

Diary Of A Wimpy Kid 2: Rodrick Rules is more entertaining than its predecessor but has the feel of a straight-to-DVD film that has snuck into the multiplexes.

Gordon and Bostick spend the majority of the film at loggerheads before the inevitable strengthening of fraternal bonds.

Greg’s ability to get himself into scrapes sometimes strains credibility, like a humiliating, madcap dash around a retirement home in a pair of pants. However, rising star Gordon weathers the water bombs of outrageous misfortune with good humour.

If the third book in Kinney’s series, Diary Of A Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw, ever makes it before the cameras, it will certainly live up to its title.