Benjamin Cox You're not supposed to dislike Herbie films. They're from a more innocent era, a time when cars having a soul didn't seem such a far-fetched idea because of the amount of acid you were dropping. Hating Herbie films is like hating a six-year-old for not being able to do algebra. But I had my fears that Herbie films would run out of gas in subsequent films but this one, this wretchedly boring addition to the series, is running on fumes. Devoid of any of the charm, humour and speed of any of the previous three films, it's a tragic way to close a series that had, at least, been fun up till now.Herbie's new owner this time is square-jawed American Pete (Stephen W Burns) and his mechanic buddy DJ (Charles Martin Smith) who inherit the car in Mexico. After befriending streetwise pickpocket Paco (Joaquin Garay, III), they decide to head to Rio De Janeiro to participate in the Brazilian Grand Prix. Boarding a cruise-liner to Rio, they meet eccentric Aunt Louise (Cloris Leachman) who intends to match up Pete with her shy and bookish (but incredibly good-looking) niece Melissa (Elyssa Davalos) while keeping her eye firmly on Captain Blythe (Harvey Korman). Amid all this, Paco is being hunted by a couple of villains from Mexico (John Vernon & Alex Rocco) who are after some lost Inca treasure and pretty soon, Herbie decides to intervene in the only way he knows how...Given that the plot is hopelessly muddled (we don't even find out how they get on in Brazil by the time the film ends!), "Herbie Goes Bananas" is a prime example of what happens when a film has only a couple of decent ideas behind it but runs out of steam very quickly and struggles to fill out its running time. Very little ever seems to happen and when it does, it's so mind-numbingly dull that it never recovers your full attention. Herbie himself lacks the personality of previous movies, being little more than a car that does tricks such as the scarcely-believable matador scene. Combine that with possibly the most annoying kid I think I've ever seen in a film (and I'm included Shortround from "Temple Of Doom") and it's no wonder you're not interested. Throughout most of the film, Herbie's called Ocho and one of the characters is so stupid, he can't work out why. For a film principally about a car with a mind of its own, it's ironic that there is no drive in the movie at all - nothing feels exciting, dynamic or amusing which is something the three earlier films managed at some point. Even the actors looks bored although Korman hams it up somewhat as the caricature naval officer.In truth, there was no reason to make this movie other than for Disney to flog a dead horse even more and wring the last few dollars out of a dying franchise. Even the weakest sequel up to this point - "Herbie Rides Again" - had one or two moments that were worth watching but this has none. But what could they have done that hadn't been done before? The only thing that's different in this movie is the location, offering the film-makers a whole bunch of dodgy accents and racial stereotypes to plunder in the search for some family-friendly laughs. Alas, they have come back empty-handed. This is the film that ushered Herbie into the pits for the last time (although Disney still put out a couple of half-hearted sequels later and even a TV show) and frankly, this film is very much like its star - out of date, rusty all over and in serious need of scrapping.

HAWKEYE Being an avid fan of the Herbie movies since I was a child, and the very proud adult owner of an immaculately restored 1972 Super Beetle, I consider this film to be one of the BEST in the series! Loads of laughs, loads of fun! The cast is top notch. The effects are superbly done. It is absolutely perfect for family viewing. Great for the kids and still a lot of fun for the adults.There is a perfect blend of aspects that will "appeal" to the children while not forgetting about the adults who will no doubt have to watch it along with the kids. The adult humor references will safely fly right over the heads of the youthful viewers. If you like Herbie, and who doesn't?, this is one you'll want to see if you haven't already!A truly enjoyable film.

bob the moo Jim Douglas has long retired and has left his car to Pete Staniczek as long as he collects it from South America. So Pete and engineer Davy Johns collect the car to enter it into a race, but they first have to contend with little pickpocket Paco. Despite the look of the car, they take it on the cruise ship with them when they leave – not knowing that Paco has sneaked onboard as well to escape the wrath of one of his victims who are part of a gang planning to steal Aztec gold.This was supposedly the final entry in the series but I suppose that the new 2005 film means that it is number 4 of 5 (so far). The characters and locations have all changed but essentially the formula is still the same – physical comedy from Herbie, romance from the driver, a crime subplot although no race as such. In this regard it doesn't do anything particularly special or go anywhere other than you expect it to, but it is inoffensive and not annoying or boring. The comedy is so-so, with plenty of Herbie action for kids (apparently they went through over 20 cars making this) and acceptable humour for adults.The cast are mixed – in some regards they carry the movie but in others they are terrible. The lead cast are mostly poor. Burns shows how enjoyable Jones was because he is totally lacking in charisma or screen presence. Smith does his best to impersonate the usual engineer sidekick (Knotts) by mugging and pulling faces but it never gets past the stage of impersonation to become his own work. Davalos is terribly dull, although her wooden, uninspired delivery does quite compliment Burns. Garay (the third, would you believe) is OK but if you hate "cute kids" in movies then you'll hate his squeaky little performance; however I suppose it is quite cool that the car gets to act opposite an orphan – very like Chaplin. Thank goodness for the support cast then, because they do a lot of the work that the lead actors fail to do; not saying that they are that good but at least they are lively and interesting. Korman overacts with little material to work with but he is very funny at times. Leachman is a lot more by-the-numbers and not as interesting. The criminal gang don't have much to do but the faces will be interesting for adults – Jaeckel and Rocco for example.Overall, this is a fairly obvious entry in the series but it is still enjoyable. The overuse of the kid will put many adults off because it brings out some horrible, cloying sentiment but mostly the film is lively and quite enjoyable. Children will enjoy it and adults will be able to watch it without feeling bored.

Tbone117367 The fourth Herbie took a twist of fate. No racing, no Dean Jones, and no quality movie. I thought there should have been a story where Douglas and Applegate continue on their racing quest to a country like Germany or Italy. These writers probably thought that the "racing" idea was too tiring to be used anymore. I did read on some site that Dean Jones did read the actual script for the "Bananas" movie. He said no because of the story's new twist itself. I can't blame him for that. Even if he was in that storyline, the movie might have been a bit better but still the worse. If the movie was about racing again, then Jones returns but probably not as good as Monte Carlo. Instead, new story with new characters that made no sense. Therefore, this is where the movie went wrong. This is also where the movie had the twist of fate.