Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang review

The governess strikes back...

Why you can trust GamesRadar+ Our experts review games, movies and tech over countless hours, so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about our reviews policy.

“Everybody stop shouting!” screams Maggie Gyllenhaal’s stressed World War 2 mum at the start of this whimsical modern-day Mary Poppins. If only.

Her five precocious charges seem to operate only at ‘shrill’ in this all-star romp about a magical child-tamer, Nanny McPhee (Emma Thompson), who teaches niceness to warring cousins with parental anxieties.

Plus there’s plenty of sticky delights for the nippers with over-flowing treacle and poo jokes.

Thankfully, Gyllenhaal (sporting spot-on plummy twang) and Thompson offset moppet-overload with heartfelt performances that sneak up and sucker-punch adults, while Maggie Smith, Rhys Ifans and Bill Bailey have fun as OTT support.

Though cute, sweet and rammed with enchanted animals (the porcine synchronised-swimming is a highlight), McPhee falls a smidgeon short of the original’s charm with a plodding pace, and a final, frantic reel that outstays its welcome.

But like McPhee herself, it’s hard not to like this cinematic hug – warts and all.

Contributing Editor, Total Film

Jane Crowther is a contributing editor to Total Film magazine, having formerly been the longtime Editor, as well as serving as the Editor-in-Chief of the Film Group here at Future Plc, which covers Total Film, SFX, and numerous TV and women's interest brands. Jane is also the vice-chair of The Critics' Circle and a BAFTA member. You'll find Jane on GamesRadar+ exploring the biggest movies in the world and living up to her reputation as one of the most authoritative voices on film in the industry. 

Latest in Action Movies
Fantastic Four: 1234 #2 cover excerpt
Sue Storm and Namor are officially both in Avengers: Doomsday, and fans are wondering if Reed Richards has something to worry about
Chris Evans as Steve Rogers with the rest of the gang during the superhero movie, The Avengers.
The OG Fox X-Men are back, with Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, and more joining the cast of Avengers: Doomsday alongside a whole new Avengers team to take on Robert Downey Jr's Doctor Doom
Robert Downey Jr. sitting in a chair at the end of a long line of chairs
Everything announced during Marvel's Avengers: Doomsday cast reveal live stream
The cast of Suicide Squad (2016)
David Ayer admits James Gunn has good reason not to release his cut of Suicide Squad, but he remains hopeful it'll happen
The Fantastic Four: First Steps cast assemble
Fantastic Four star says the Marvel movie "will go down in history" for rejuvenating the MCU, "in the same way the Guardians of the Galaxy and Black Panther hit"
Ben Affleck in Air
Ben Affleck isn't in The Odyssey, but he plans to visit the set anyway to watch Christopher Nolan work: "He's one of the greatest filmmaking architects to ever live"
Latest in Reviews
Image of the Corsair Virtuoso Max wireless headset sitting on top of a gaming PC case taken by writer Rosalie Newcombe.
Corsair Virtuoso Max Wireless review - a PC headset tour de force
Zombicide box featuring stylized art of survivors fighting zombies
Zombicide 2nd Edition review: "Like a zombie flick brought to tabletop"
Razer Handheld Dock with Steam Deck sitting on cradle, pink and yellow RGB lighting on, and Alienware monitor in background with Tomb Raider Trilogy gameplay on screen.
Razer Handheld Dock review: “Your Steam Deck will ride shiny and Chroma"
Photographs of the Agricola board game in play
Agricola review: "Accurate representation of the highly competitive and often unstable world of agriculture"
Photos taken by writer Rosalie Newcombe of the Shure MV7i microphone, within a pink and white themed room.
Shure MV7i review - convenience and excellence rolled into one superb sounding package
Key art for Atomfall showing a character in the English countryside looking at a nuclear plant some distance away
Atomfall review: "This isn't British Fallout – it's something much better than that"