Living in Haworth and being a massive fan of the original film, I had high expectations for this film.

Although the cast are great, the plot is thin and I struggled to be kept entertained.

I was disappointed that only a couple of the original characters made an appearance especially considering that several are still around today.

There's no mention of past characters nor whether Bobby married the boy stuck on the tunnel from the first film. In this film, her husband has passed - a casualty of the war. No mention of Perks either and there must have been plenty of opportunity to include him I the story.

I felt a little let down by the writers tbh, it could've been so much better and Unlike the original, I wouldn't rush to see it again.

It is though, beautifully shot and will be a massive tourism boom for the locals of the Yorkshire villages of Haworth and Oakworth.

There is nothing inherently wrong with this film, it is very sweet, quaint and positively intoxicating with its timeless charm of trains in the Yorkshire countryside. But the audience need something more to keep The film from being boring; it is simply not enough to recycle the same locations and the same plot points because from very early on this film just becomes a predictable tribute to the superior 1970s version.

An interesting point to note is how everyone from film critics to members of the public have complained about the secondary theme regarding racial inequality. Nobody was expecting nor wanted this theme in the film and subsequently it is quite jarring and feels out of place according to many people. I for one argue that in order for a period film to be successful nowadays it has to carry social related issues such as racial inequality in order for it to be able to relate to the wider public. After all, we are now so much more aware of racial related issues, ignoring it is hard to do.

In spite of the beautiful shots there was a really terrible continuity errors that were next to unforgivable and the hammy acting. Of the children left much to be desired when it came down to the casting director's choices.

This film will mostly have a fondness towards it, but it's destined to be consigned to TV as a Sunday afternoon filler.

As you might expect from an attempt to re run a beloved classic there is a certain air of somewhat cynical box checking about The Railway Children Return but some charm does manage to sneak through.

This time round children are sent to the country to escape the blitz rather than just having to slum it with the yokels because daddy has legal problems. This set up allows Jenny Agutter to return as the grown up matriarch of a family taking in the new generation of railway kids. She seems to be enjoying herself but doesn't really have much to do. This is the same for most of the adult characters in the film, thinly drawn but likeable (apart from one insufferable old uncle who turns up purely to spout ra ra nonsense).

This makes sense as it is the railway "children" after all. Some of the child acting is, to be kind, a mixed bag but it never derails proceedings and there is only so much a young actor can do with insightful lines like, "I hate war, I hate it!"

The plot, such as it is, involves a runaway soldier and institutional racism. Fortunately, only the American military are racist (although they still promote black soldiers far up the ranks so i guess we are meant to think they aren't all bad) as the citizens of a quant English village would never indulge in such behaviour. To call the events of the movie a plot is actually a bit of stretch, things happen for a while and then just sort of resovle themselves without much explanation of how everynody came together.

The Railway Children Return isnt a complete waste of time but is likely to be quickly forgotten. Probably as soon as the credits roll.