This hyperactive adaptation of Chris Van Allsburg’s children’s book is not content to echo the gentle beauty of the original illustrations (though some of the images do that wonderfully). Instead, director Robert Zemeckis and his team of computer animators kick things up several notches with frantic action filler. If there is any conceivable way a train could go out of control – faulty brakes, ice on the tracks, etc. – The Polar Express covers it.
