Evan Almighty (PG), out Nov 26***

9:34am Wednesday 21st November 2007

TO achieve his designs on changing the world, career-focused, not-so-close family man Evan Baxter (Steve Carell) swaps a news anchor post to become junior congressman. But his plans are interrupted when God (Morgan Freeman) turns up.

Evan is more than a little seasick when tasked with becoming a new-age Noah but his attempts to ignore his ark-building destiny fall flat when an unshaveable Biblical-style beard grows and a hoard of animals (two by two, of course) hound him.

Although this is an easy and mildly amusing watch, it's unlikely the evangelism meets environmentalism message will anchor comfortably in audiences' minds.

Plus director Tom Shadyac's sin of squandering Carell's capabilities is hard to forgive, especially when Evan was one of Bruce Almighty's quirkiest characters.

Give praise then, like its predecessor, the supporting cast (especially Wanda Sykes's spiky secretary and overly-adoring assistant Jonah Hill) are a comic godsend.

Sadly it's another flat family film and not even a comic super-power Carell can save this sinking ship.

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